


Midding - Hello Neighbor Fanfic

by CherilDevalet



Category: Hello Neighbor (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Depression, F/M, Fluff, Forest Protectors, Golden Apple Factory, Ike is a good friend, Later smut?, Reader has depressions, Reader is German, Reader is somewhat dense, Slow Burn, Spoilers for the books, With everything romantic related, age gap, alternative dimension, bit AUish, no beta we die like men, will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:42:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 35,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28194906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherilDevalet/pseuds/CherilDevalet
Summary: A calm walk in the forest turns into a life treathening situation after a sudden storm traps you inside. After getting hit by apparent lightning, you wake up in an unfamiliar hospital. You soon learn that you are not in Germany anymore, probably not even in your world anymore.--------------------------------------First Fanfic, probably self-insert, non-english speaker
Relationships: Theodore Peterson | The Neighbor/Original Female Character(s), Theodore Peterson | The Neighbor/Reader
Comments: 7
Kudos: 7





	1. Approaching Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, thanks for checking out my fanfic! Please remember that this is my first work and that english is not my native language, so if you find any mistakes write me so i can correct them. Anyway enjoy! <3

The wind was getting much worse. You were walking faster now along the forest path, as leaves were blown harshly into your small, quivering form. It started as a nice simple walk in the forest, on a cold late autumn day, to clear your head. But the unpredictably weather seemed to have something against you specifically. Right when you were so deep into the forest that you started to make your way back, the storm picked up and transformed the otherwise calm forest into a potential death trap.  
The trees started bending with the force of the wind as it howled in your ears, louder than before and you started hurrying even more while being careful on the slippery mud path. Just your luck to get into a situation like this: your day already started bad with another strong depression episode, rendering you immobile till late midday, until you could muster up enough energy to move and at least get a shower to; hopefully, feel better. After you finished this you tried to work on an art commission, but even there your illness robed you off your joy. You just couldn’t seem to get started and find your creativity like normal. Deeming this day one of those were you wouldn’t accomplish anything, you thought about going for a walk in the forest that sat right behind your town on a tiny hill. Normally those walks would help you to forget your worries and depression, at least for a while. But today it seemed to only get worse.  
Ominous rumbling noises from the sky joined the howling wind and soon, the first fat raindrops fell from the dark clouds, soaking through your thick jacket. The rain grew intense quickly, raindrops falling so fast and heavy, creating an opaque veil, that you had trouble seeing the path in front of you. You tried shielding your face with the hood of your jacket, but even this got soaked within seconds, plastering the fur lining onto your wet face, really not helping with seeing.  
You weren’t sure how much longer you had to run to get to the forest edge, your whole body was chilled, your breathing labored and especially your legs grew numb with cold, making navigating through the bushes and roots hard. Were you even still on the path?  
Just then another sound joined the amalgam of howling wind, thunder and loud rain. You first thought it was just the sound of the rain getting worse; if that was even possible. But it distinctly sounded like hundreds of birds taking flight and cawing loudly in unison.  
Just then your foot caught on a muddy root, sending you crashing through a thorny bush and rolling down a slight hill. Your heard loud crashing from all around you, the storm was reaching its peak, uprooting trees and striking the earth. Frantically trying to find your footing again to escape the falling trees and a painful death of being squished to death you crawled on all fours until your body was able to stand up again.  
The intense symphony of sounds grew louder, reaching its terrifying peak as you started to run again. Only to get stopped by a sensation like thousand hot, long needles being pushed into your body all at once. The intense pain robbed your breath, you couldn’t think. Couldn’t react.  
You were on the ground again, the wet forest ground chilling your already wet body like ice. Desperately trying to get air again in your lungs you started hyperventilating, but there wasn’t getting anything into your lungs, as if they stopped working. You were suffocating. Burning alive, as the needles pushed deeper, hotter. Your heart hurting as it beat so fast against your ribcage.  
A loud clap of thunder robbed you of your hearing for a moment, casting the forest in silence. It only lasted for a moment, as the sounds came back, just as intense as before, accompanied by a loud ringing.  
Silent screams tore from your vocal cords. You were dying. Dying. You didn’t want to die. Clawing at everything to get away from the pain, your hands found tall, wet grass. You tasted iron in your mouth. Finding no purchase to get you forward you grounded your hands into the mud harder. Your right hand pushed against something hard and sharp and you clamped down on it. Almost like a lifeline you desperately clutched the object and tried to crawl forward. Only for your body to not react. You were chilled to the bone and burning alive at the same time. Mind screaming under the tortured and failing completely to comprehend what was happening.  
All at once your senses started fading, you couldn’t smell the wet grass anymore, your blood seemed to drain out of your already lifeless body and your sight became darker. As your wide unblinking eyes stared straight ahead one last clap of violet thunder rang through the forest, illuminating a sky full of dark shapes swirling like a vortex, then the light faded again, and everything turned dark.


	2. Awakening

Being unconscious is a really strange feeling. The first thing you might notice, is that your mind and body even exist again, and that there was a big blank nothingness before. With this, the first stray thoughts occur, that somehow don’t even register in your brain. You are aware that you are breathing. Memories from before the nothingness seem to elude your mind at the moment. Slowly your senses returned. First hearing beeping noises as if they were far away, then the feeling of touch through pins and needles in your limps. Smell somehow needs a bit longer to function again, even though there is a biting, sterile smell in the air. You know your eyes are closed and that you should open them.

Your eyes seem dry as you practically peel your eyelids open. And immediately close them again. All you could glimpse from that one moment was a stark white as it burned your retina. You groaned and tried to adjust your suddenly stiff neck. It feels like you were laying for some time in this uncomfortable bed. What even happened? Where were you?  
As your tried to rake through your brain for something that might help you figure out these questions, you could hear a door near you open. This time squinting against the bright white you could see a person walking into the small room. Your sight was still a little bit blurry, so her image became clear once she walked near you and checked a fluid bag hanging from an IV-stand. Fluid bag means needles, you sluggishly remember. And looking down at your left arm there surely was a needle nestled into the crook. Immediately fear spiked through your still muddled brain, setting of the heart monitor that was also clipped onto your left arm.   
The person; a nurse, your helpful brain replied, noticed your awakened state and laid a warm hand on your shoulder. Her brown eyes communicated safety, but you only felt dread at the moment.  
“It’s okay. You’re safe now.” she smiled warmly at you, clearly not understanding the reason for your distress.   
“Die Nadel”, you replied. She just looked at you perplexed as if she didn’t understand. Licking your dry lips, you clarified: “Ich habe Angst vor Nadeln. Können Sie sie rausnehmen?”   
The nurse still didn’t budge and seemed to consider your words, like there was a hidden message behind them. Just then your mind seemed to catch onto the fact that she didn’t spoke to you in German, but English. Must be a foreigner or something.  
Again, licking your lips, you tried to summon the foreign words to the front of your mind.  
“The needle. I fear needles, can you take it out?”. As an afterthought you added a quit “please” after it, no need to be rude, right?  
Her face showed recognition, “I’m sorry, but you need these fluids. Maybe later when the doctor has checked you through, I may remove it. Just try to be calm, alright?”  
Unhelpful advice, but okay. There was nothing you could do and removing the needle yourself was out of the question. So, you just stare ahead, away from your arm and took deep, calming breaths. The nurse seemed satisfied, she checked over the equipment one more time and turned to leave.  
“Wait”, you called out. The nurse looked over her shoulder expectantly at you. Trying to formulate a sentence that made sense, you opened your mouth.  
“What happened? I can’t really remember”.  
She seemed to regard you for a moment. “It will come back. Don’t worry. You were out for quite some time; your mind needs to reorganize itself. Give it a little bit and try to not strain yourself.” With this she turned and walked out the door.  
Dissatisfied you stared straight ahead, ignoring the cold feeling in your gut. This whole situation was strange to you. Not heading her warning, you tried your hardest to remember what had happened. You had a shitty day, that you knew. You remembered loud noises and coldness, but that was it. Like your mind was still shaken up from what it might have experienced. It made you afraid, not knowing if something bad had happened, just feeling that there was something wrong.   
You really hoped your family had been notified. The next hospital was not far from your little town, so they might be already on their way. To, hopefully, get you out of there. Hospitals gave you the creeps, even though they helped people and weren’t inherently a bad place.   
You stared at the door to your room. Imagining your mother to come through it, relief on her face as she hugs you. Would your two sisters also come visit you? Your eyes didn’t leave the door, not even as the sun began to set, casting your room in an almost golden glow. You didn’t know how long you had waited, didn’t want to know if you were being honest.  
They still hadn’t shown up.  
Just then the door opened, your hearth swelling with excitement. Only to quickly die down as a middle-aged man in a white lab coat enters. He seemed to know why you were looking heartbroken but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he walks over to your bed and stands beside it.  
“Hello, good to finally see you awake. I’m Doctor Malcolm. Mrs. West already told me that you don’t seem to be a native English speaker. Would you like me to get someone to translate?” His offer seemed nice, but you were clearly disappointed that nobody in this hospital seemed to talk German. It was really odd, you only ever seen people who were foreign but were still talking German, sometimes a little bit broken but nevertheless understandable. Not wanting to wait much longer for a chance to figure out why you were in this predicament you didn’t accept his offer. You were feeling very much capable to understand and communicate with him.   
“Alright then”, he answers, “There are some things we need to clarify, if you are feeling well enough to talk about it?”. Another way out of this conversation. You got the feeling he was trying to gauge your reaction or overall emotional state. Still, you nodded.   
He exhaled a little louder, then taking the clipboard he was holding the whole time and shuffling trough some papers on it. “When you where first brought here, we weren’t sure what to make of your status. You were slightly hypothermic, had some minor scratches and bruising. But the thing that baffled us were your burn marks”. You made a double take. Burn marks? Something kept nagging you in the back of your mind, but you couldn’t quit reach the thought, even if you tried.  
Voicing your thoughts, he looked at you.  
“Yes, they seem to be a little over a week old. From the pattern I would suggest you were maybe struck by lightning. Even if the burns seem minor degree and you lack some aspects of a victim suffering from lightning burns. We checked your heart and nervous system; everything seems unaffected so far. We would like to observe you for one more night and if no other problems arise, you should be good to go.”  
He must have seen your face become more and more frightened but didn’t stop talking. Struck by lightning. You were struck by lightning. It all came somehow back into focus, if slightly disarranged. Walking through the forest after a shitty day, the storm, the rain and lastly a panful sensation coursing through your body. You started shaking. Dr. Malcolm finally acknowledged your distress.  
“Now, now, it’s okay. It might sound really bad, but we made sure that everything is fine with your body and that there are no other injuries that may be life threatening. You are in the best hands here.”  
It didn’t matter, it was still a frightful memory and Dr. Malcolm’s confidence didn’t change anything. You just wanted you family to be here. Your family!  
“Ah, Dr. Malcolm.” You called out, slightly startling him. “What about my family? Do they know I’m here, where they notified?” you continued.  
“Well, that’s one more thing I wanted to talk about.” Fearing the worst, you couldn’t bring yourself to answer him.  
“We found your wallet on you but didn’t find any means to contact your relatives. Mind giving me their address or telephone number?”  
You didn’t hesitate to tell him your address and city name. He looked at you confused.  
“I’ve never heard of a town with this name. Where exactly is it located?”.  
Now equally confused you told him your state.  
“It’s in Lower Saxony.” How can he not know that? Where even was this hospital?  
“Pardon?”  
“Uuhh…Germany?”  
His face now completely lost all confidence he earlier had. You both now were looking at each other like you both grew two heads. Where were you, if not in Germany anymore? Why would they transport someone into another country for minor injuries?   
Dr. Malcolm seemed to have found his voice again.  
“Well … that might complicate things. Any other person that lives here that can help you? Roommates, friends?”  
“Where exactly is here?” you asked. You were tired of not knowing what was going on.   
“You are currently in a Hospital in Raven Brooks; Missouri.” Dr. Malcolm answered.   
Missouri? That suspiciously sounded like America. You voiced your thoughts, which the Doctor confirmed.   
Your head started to pound. What was happening? Why were you in America? This had to be a joke.   
“That is impossible. I was in a forest in my hometown when I got hit by lightning. What am I doing here?” Hysteria got a hold of you. Your blood ran cold. Was there something you were forgetting?  
The Doctor seemed uncomfortable again. You didn’t care. You just wanted to go home.  
He stood there awkwardly, shuffling through his papers again and writing something down. The he looked at you again.  
“I can try to contact your family in Germany. Maybe they can shed light into this whole ordeal. Until then, please try to calm down and rest. I will come back later and update you on the situation.”  
He gave you one last look before he turned and left the room. And with him goes last means of obtaining information.

It was now dark outside. The sun had set maybe an hour ago. You were still in the room. A nurse came and removed the needle in your arm, giving you at least a little bit more comfort.   
You had a lot to think about. Sure, you were curious about how you ended up here, but all you really wanted was to go back home. Your family would surely buy you a plane ticket, with which you could return and forget this whole situation ever happened. The injuries where a whole situation in itself. Shortly after Dr. Malcom left you looked your body over and found some band aids and bandages on your hands, legs, forearms and face. These were the cuts he mentioned. But starting from your right shoulder and running like a spiderweb down your torso were the burn marks. They didn’t look to bad, only slightly red. Didn’t even hurt that much, but they were marks that would probably never go away, tainting your body forever. This knowledge stung. You had some scars on your forearm, but these were not as noticeable as the lightning injury. Would you even be able to wear a swimsuit again?  
Your musings where interrupted by Dr. Malcolm as he entered your room again. His face looked grim, a stark contrast to his friendly face from before. Your stomach sank, he certainly didn’t have good news.   
This time he began to speak immediately. “We tried searching for the address you provided. We did find the town and the street name but the house you were referring to doesn’t exist. There also doesn’t seem to live a family with your surname in this town. Are your sure that you remember the correct address?”  
Your blood turned cold. This couldn’t be. First you get struck by lightning, then wake up in America and now this Doctor tells you that your family doesn’t exist.  
“Do you call me a liar?” you seethed.   
Dr. Malcolm was taken aback by your angry replied. Softly he tried to deescalate the situation.  
“No, I don’t. Maybe you just don’t remember the address - “   
“I lived there my whole life. I was BORN in this town. My family lived there for 20 years! This has to be a fucking joke. It’s not funny!”  
You were crying now, hysterically trying to understand what was going on. The doctor tried again to talk to you.  
“We did talk with the Authorities in Germany. We found your ID, but it doesn’t seem to … exist in their system”, he worded carefully.  
“We are not sure how something like that can happen, but one of the most logical explanation could be foul play”.  
Still crying you just looked at him angry, not understanding what he was trying to tell you.  
He apparently took mercy on you because after a moment he stated:   
“Maybe Human trafficking”.  
That was the last straw. The thought that your family apparently didn’t exist, and you were victim of not only natural causes but something so vile was to much for your broken mind. The crying turned into screaming. Your mind fraying at the edges you tried to understand how it could have happened, tried to discern reality from imagination. It didn’t make sense. The screaming was not only from you. The doctor was also shouting at you. In your panic you started clawing at your face, ripping the band aid from your cheek, scratching the burning skin of your skull. The pain only intensified the broken shard that resembled your heart, clawing at your insides. Hurting you, killing you.  
You didn’t even notice Doctor Malcolm approaching with a needle, to preoccupied to rip your own face to shreds. Didn’t feel the needle enter your arm.   
Only then the world stopped spinning, everything fading away. The pain, the thoughts, your whole existence. The second time this day everything turned dark.


	3. Contemplating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up you have much to contemplate.

Waking up the second time was definitely harder than the first time. Not only were you still groggy from the first time being unconscious, but now your face felt swollen and crusty. There were multiple band aids on your cheeks and your eyes felt tender from your hysterical crying.  
The staff seemed to have put something in you while you were out cold, you felt weirdly numb. Even as your recent memories came flooding back.  
Your breakdown as Doctor Malcolm broke the news that your family and yourself, apparently, didn’t exist in the German authorities’ files. The incident in the forest with the lightning, it all seemed so surreal. How were you supposed to know what was real and what imagination if your entire past could have been one giant lie? It wouldn’t be the first time that your mental illnesses tempered with your memories, but that was an extreme case.  
Maybe you were in a coma. You had read different stories where people fell into a coma and lived entire lives inside their head. Or maybe you were dead, and this was your own personal hell. It would make sense: waking up in a hospital, one of your most feared places. Completely alone without the support of your family.   
Great, now you felt like crying again.  
Trying to distract yourself you observed the room you were currently staying in again. The sun was now shining, meaning you definitely slept trough the night. Today they would release you out into the world, to fend for yourself. With no job, no relatives and no place to stay, your future here looked really grim. Even if you really were in a coma and nothing was real, you didn’t want to sleep on the streets if you could help it.   
Just then the door opened, revealing the nurse from yesterday; Mrs. West if you remembered correctly. She flashed you a sad smile while approaching your bed. In her hands were various objects, some which you recognized instantly.  
“These were found in your jacket. We held onto them until you felt better”, she explains while setting the objects on the drawer near your bed.   
There was your wallet and phone, both a little bit muddy. Your charger, which hopefully survived getting soaked and a key you didn’t recognize. You reached for the key, your arm sluggishly trying to comply. Grabbing it you turned it in your hand. It was dirtier than your belongings, definitely older and with a plastic keychain. A faded address was scribbled onto it.  
“You had the key in your hand when the man brought you here. Didn’t really want to let go of it, we had to pry it from you.” Mrs. West’s way of breaking the ice after your awkward break down yesterday.  
“What man?” you asked her. You didn’t remember owning this key but maybe it was on of those things you had forgotten. Or someone gave this to you in hopes it would help you. Either way, you would hold onto it.  
“His name was Gershowitz I think. He brought you here two days ago. Oh, that reminds me! He wanted to visit you when you were feeling better, if you would like to meet him.”  
You pondered over her words. On one hand you really didn’t want to meet anyone, you just wanted to crawl in a dark hole and be left alone with your thoughts. On the other hand, he could tell you how he found you and maybe shed some light onto your sudden appearance here.   
“Sure.” You answered, still in your thoughts.  
Mrs. West smiled warmly again and left you after that.  
You grabbed all the objects from the drawer and laid them on your blanket before you. First, you checked your wallet. Your ID and drivers license where still there, your own image staring back at you. The address was still the same as you remembered. You generally ruled Dr. Malcolm’s “human trafficking” theory out for you. There was just no way for someone to not only fake your ID but also your memories. There had to be another answer for that.   
Next you checked for money. You still had a reasonable amount, which would last you a couple of weeks food wise, if you calculated wisely. This town surely had a grocery store where you cold buy a month-long-supply of pancakes. So the only thing you had to really worry about was housing.  
Holding the key in your other hand, you slowly slid your finger of the plastic tag. It looked old and worn down, but the address was clear enough to read: Sunshine-Fields C 14, Raven brooks.  
So the key definitely belonged to some house in Raven Brooks. With no other direction it you decided to check it out after the hospital staff let you leave.  
Next was your phone. It had some mud sticking to its casing, but otherwise seemed fine. It didn’t turn on unfortunately, you hoped it wasn’t water damage. Deciding that there was nothing else you could do you plugged your charger into the wall and charged your phone. Maybe in one or two hours it would turn on.  
Putting the key and phone on the drawer, you rolled onto your side and decided to nap a little bit, before you were forced to go.

Knocking startled you out of your sleep. Groggily you turned around an sat up.   
“Come in", your voice sounded hoarsely through the room. The door opened, revealing a lanky man with brown hair and a funny moustache. He didn’t looked like hospital staff, so you just watched him and hoped he would introduce himself.   
He stood there awkwardly next to the door and gave a friendly wave. His demenor overall gave of friendly and calm vibes, laid back would be a good way to describe him.  
“Ah, good to see you’re doing better. My name’s Ike Gershowitz, I’m the one who found you, if the nurses didn’t already tell you”.   
His name sounded familiar. There was an itch in your mind, like your brain really wanted to tell you something, but you just couldn’t reach that thought. Maybe that part if your brain got fried.   
Not wanting to let the conversation die down, you quickly put your tired mind to work.   
“yeah, they told me that you brought me here”, you replied lamely. Damn did your conversation skills also got fried during the lightning?  
Ike seemed to pick up the conversation easier than you.   
“Glad that you don’t seem worse for wear. I feared you wouldn’t make it when i found you. If you don’t mind me asking, what where you doing out there in the middle of a storm?”  
There was your chance to find out more about your predicament.  
“Where and how exactly did you find me?”, you asked. He smiled at that.  
“I’ll answer your question and you’ll answer mine. Deal?”   
Once you nodded, he began talking.  
“I work as a security guard for the city. I was patrolling the edge of the forest, then the storm happened, and lightning struck near a factory. I checked it out, to make sure there wasn’t a fire and found you lying there. I couldn’t get you to wake up, so I brought you to the hospital.”  
You had to think about that. So you got hit by lightning and then just appeared somewhere else? That sounded strange. And you really couldn’t shake the feeling that you somehow knew Ike.   
He watched you expectantly. Remembering what you agreed on, you cleared your throat.  
“I was taking a walk in the forest, then the storm surprised me and I, apparently, got hit by lightning.”  
Now that you thought about it, it was kinda weird that they had a storm at the same time as your hometown.  
Ike seemed surprised.  
“Now wonder you were steaming.” He muttered, more to himself but you caught it.   
You started laughing. Just the imaginary picture of you somehow using lightning so get to another country and then laying there steaming like some sort of meal was hilarious to you. Probably still the effects of the drug the hospital people gave you. Ike chuckled along with you and leaned against the wall.   
“if you don’t mind me asking, where are you from? You sound foreign.”  
“I’m from Germany”, you replied after your laughter died down.   
“Ah, that’s why it sounded familiar. I have a friend who lived some time in Germany, and sometimes when he speaks, he has a little bit of that accent of yours.”  
“really?”, the thought of something familiar in a town full of foreign things made you giddy. You somehow wanted to meet that friend, just so you could have someone with which you shared and experience. Ike seemed to get the same idea.   
“maybe I can introduce you two, if you’d like.”   
You enthusiastically nodded your head at that.   
The conversation flowed easier after that. Ike told you some more details about his friend: that he was a park designer and lived in raven Brooks. Confusion written all over your face he clarified that his friend designed rollercoasters and other attractions. That sounded interesting but the itch that you had felt in your mind intensified at that. What were you forgetting that your mind clearly tried to tell you?   
Not wanting to be the only one talking Ike asked you about yourself. Some things that immediately came to your mind was your strange appearance in the forest through the storm. While you didn’t want to give Ike the impression that you were crazy, you had the feeling that you could tell him about your strange circumstances. He seemed like a good listener who wouldn’t judge you. So you told him the story again, with more detail this time.   
You told him how you lived your whole life in Germany. How you decided to take a walk. How the storm surprised you and how much fear you felt when you had to run from the storm. About the pain and then waking up in another country. About Dr. Malcolm's weird theory. All the while he just stood there and listened. Not once changing his mimic. After you finished, he just looked at you.   
“wouldn’t be the first time something strange happened in those woods. Who knows, maybe the storm really brought you here.”  
You felt like crying again. There was someone who didn’t knew you, who saved you and now believed the crazy story you were telling. You would probably hug him if it wouldn’t be awkward to stand up and do just that.   
Ike seemed to realize how long he was already occupying your time. With an apology and an explanation that he wanted to visit his friend as well he wished you well and left.  
Now alone with your thoughts again, the day didn’t progress fast enough.  
Dr. Malcolm visited you one more time, to see how you where doing after your incident yesterday. He told you to stay one more night at the hospital to recover. Looking apologetic he gave you a little paper slip with an address on it.  
“Just for an emergency. If you need time to recover”, after he told you it was the address of a mental health station in the neighboring town. You didn’t know if you should be offended or glad for the extra help he was providing. He seemed to have noticed that your mental health wasn’t the greatest. You decided to at least hold onto it, maybe if you didn’t find housing you could use the mental health station as a way to not sleep on the streets.


	4. Temporary Safety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late christmas present for you :3

The next day you woke up in the early morning. Your phone had charged the whole night, and as you turned it on you were pleasantly surprised that it still functioned despite having to be soaked during the storm. As the phone booted up you started dressing yourself. The hospital had washed your clothing and gave it back to you, so you didn’t have to run around in muddy wear. The jeans had seen better days, it was torn at the knees but that was somewhat modern so it wouldn't draw that much attention. Your pullover was in much better shape, as were the socks, both protected from the rain. They didn’t clean your shoes but that was okay. You didn’t mind running around in somewhat dirty sneakers, you would clean them when you got the chance. The jacket was another question entirely. You could clearly see where the lightning hit you in the back. Right on the right side, where the shoulderblade sat, there was a burnt hole with burnt lines growing like spiderwebs down the back and around the front. You definitely needed a new one. When you took your walk, it was autumn. But looking out of the hospital window it seemed to be late spring in Raven Brooks. So you could just walk around in you pullover and carry your jacket around.   
You looked back to your phone, it had finished booting and now showed the home screen. But the background was a generic picture, not your personalized background that you drew yourself. Confused you picked it up and scrolled through the apps. Some were missing, like WhatsApp and Instagram. Next you scrolled through your contacts, eager to phone your mother and tell her where you were. She had to be worried sick by now.   
There were no contacts on your phone. No mother or sisters, not your friends. Nothing.   
You checked your pictures but there was nothing. The SD card also had nothing on it, being completely blank.   
The phone must have resetted itself after the lightning. Angry you tossed it onto the hospital bed. Now What?   
You had no means to contact your family. Didn’t even know how to call from a normal telephone if you wanted to speak to someone in another country.   
Just then the door to your room opened, revealing Mrs. West as she smiled at you.   
“I’m here to bring you to the front door. Ready?”, she asked.   
Grabbing your phone, charger and the key from the drawer you stuffed them in your jacket pocket and followed Mrs. West out of the room that had been you little safe haven for the last two days.   
She walked you trough corridors that all looked the same, past occupied rooms and other hospital staff. Not long after, you two reached the big front door. Mrs. West turned around and looked at you.   
“So, we’re here. We wish you all the best for your future, and please don’t hesitate to come again if you feel unwell. There’s a taxi waiting for you outside that will bring you to a destination if you have one. Good luck”, and with this she turned around and hurried back where she came from.  
You looked at her receding back a little while longer until you couldn’t see her anymore, then you walked through the big double doors.   
It was warm outside, almost to warm for your current choice of clothing. If it got any warmer the next days, you would have to buy some t-shirts.   
True to her word there was a small taxi waiting patiently in front of the building. You walked towards it and opened the door. The driver, a young man in his mid twenties, shot you a neutral look   
“Good day ma'am. Where to?”, he asked.  
Now you had to make a choice. You could go straight to the mental health station and try to get a place to stay there. Or you could try to find the address on the key tag and try your luck there.   
Somehow the key spoke to you more, like destiny that you would grab it during the storm and holding onto it. Maybe it really was a lifeline.   
You took the key out of your pocket and read the address to the driver.   
He nodded and started the car.   
You passed what looked like a town square with some stores. Recognizing a grocery store you tried to remember the way so you could go shop some food to last you the week later.   
The driver seemed to notice you were not in a talking mood, so he stayed silent as well, blanketing the interior into comfortable silence. Soft radio music played in the background while you tried to absorb as much of the town you were going to spend the next days in.

“Are you sure that’s the right address?”, saying that felt like a déjà vu. After passing some nice neighbourhoods the taxi took you father and father away from the town. Passing the forest, the driver stopped the car at a little alcove, where a dirt path lead into the thick foliage.   
“yep, that’s sunshine fields”, he pointed to a barely recognizable sign. And indeed, it read sunshine fields with a cartoony sun on the right corner. Squinting down the forest path you tried to see if there was a house at the end but all you could see was green. Feeling the driver getting impatient you opened the passenger door and left the car.   
“What do I owe You?”, you asked, hoping that that’s the way people ask that question to taxi drivers.   
“Nothing”, he replied. “The hospital already paid for your ride”. And with that he wished you a nice day and drove away.   
You looked down the path again. You weren't so sure about your decision now. Maybe you should’ve chosen the mental health station instead.  
But now there was nothing you could do so you trekked down the forest path. Sunlight shone trough the thick foliage, casting the forest path in a nice warm glow. If you weren’t in a desperate situation to find housing, you would have appreciated the sight more. The path curved a bit to the right and then it cleared up. You stood in a clearing near lake inside the forest. The path opened up to a field of small peebles. And there, some ways into the field was an old trailer parked right between the tree line and the clearing. You took out the key again. It indeed didn’t look like a normal house key. It was smaller and could definitely belong to a trailer. You cautiously approached the door. The trailer was covered on a lot if grime and vines, it almost looked abandoned. Taking the key and plugging it in the keyhole you were pleasantly surprised that it fit. With some difficulty you opened the door. The interior looked better that the front, if not by much. A thick layer of dust coated the surfaces. Someone must have lived here but abandoned the trailer at least a year ago. You took a closer look at the inside. There was a small kitchen area with a fridge and a stove. Opposite of it was a small seating area where two people could sit. In the back stood a dusty bed, with some storage space behind it. A little bathroom was also present, with a small shower and even a toilet. Cautiously you looked through the cupboards. Plates and cutlery were present but there was no food in the fridge. It didn’t seem to even have electricity. The faucet didn’t work either.   
Overall, the trailer looked abandoned, like the previous owner left it to rot here. So, if he or she didn’t want the trailer maybe you could borrow this place for a little while. Just until you found a way to contact your family and get home. It would be like you were never even here in the first place. Mentally approving of your idea, you decided to clean up a little bit. If you were to stay here the dust needed to go. Already feeling your nose itch, you went through the cupboards again and took a little plastic bucket and a cloth. Filling the bucket with water from the clear lake you started wiping down the surfaces, freeing them from dust. After this you took the blanket and pillows from the little bed and put them outside. The matressed seemed to be almost dust free, since the blanket covered it and held the dirt away. Shaking them free of the most dust you put the pillows outside and dunked the blanket in the lake. You would have preferred a washing machine, but the lake seemed clear enough to wash the thin blanket. After washing the most of dust and dirt out you hung the wet blanket over a cloth line connected to the outside of the trailer. Now all there was left to do was the floor. You could see clear footprints where you moved the dust from its position. Changing the now dirty water from the bucket you began scrubbing the floor the best you could. You had to change the water two more times to wash the entire floor of the trailer but now it was almost clean. Checking the cupboards again, you found that the plates weren’t as dirty as you thought. A quick rinse in the lake would be enough. You could always buy some soap from the store and wash them in earnest when you went grocery shopping.  
You left the trailer door open so that the floor could air dry, tacking off you boots you went to the back to check out the other storage unit. To your surprise it was a closet full of clothing, mostly black and earthy tones with some whites between. You spied some dresses, skirts and tops, on the bottom of the closet stood some winter boots and sandals. Wearing the clothes of another person was something you were only going to do if absolutely necessary, so you left them alone for now. You looked around the trailer, noticing how much cleaner and nicer it now looked. You could really picture yourself staying here for some nights atleast. Just then your stomach decided to remind you that you only had breakfast at the hospital this morning and that cleaning was actually exhausting. Opening the windows to let some fresh air inside you closed and locked the trailer door and marched back the forest path to get to the edge of the city. Hopefully you could still remember the way to the grocery store.


	5. Town Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting Ike you see another familiar face. Revelations are made and you begin to question your reality.

The path seemed quicker and easier when you were driving. You had exited the forest some time ago and where now in the outskirts of town. But you didn’t remember any of those houses or street names. Trying to shift through your memories to try and navigate the foreign town seemed harder than you anticipated. Now you just stood there on the middle of the sidewalk and contemplated what to do. Luckily there was a woman walking towards you. She seemed familiar with the environment, so you decided to ask for directions. Timidly approaching her you waved to get her attention.  
“uh, excuse me, but do you know where the grocery store is?”  
The woman looked you over and then shrugged her shoulders “sure”  
Giving you easy directions how to go there you thanked her and tried to engrave the directions into your mind. The lady gave you one last stare and then went her way. People seemed to stare at you a lot, even if you didn’t wear your burnt jacket. Probably because of the band-aids still plastered all over your face  
Twenty minutes later you arrived at the town square you saw earlier. It was a fairly big square with a small fountain in the middle. Several stores lined the sides, one of them was the grocery store. Natural grocer, you correct after reading the sign above it. Hopefully the prices weren't of the hook here.  
Entering the quaint shop, you looked around. Wooden boxes held fresh fruit and behind that where wooden shelves lined with canned food and other assortments. You grabbed a small shopping basket and went around the store. Since the freezer didn’t work, you needed stuff that didn’t expire fast. Some granola bars and canned food were options. You remember seeing a small fireplace near the lake, with some matches and wood you could probably make a fire. This as least gave you more options. Grabbing some canned ravioli and bread you turned around to look for more edibles. Only to shrink back as there was someone standing close behind you.  
“oh, I’m so sorry, didn’t meant to scare you”, the high-pitched, granting voice belonged to an older woman. The first thing you noticed about her was her really … colourful dress, accented by a brown cardigan. You would probably call her a hippy, if you had to put her in a category. Some brass earrings and a big wooden necklace completed her look.  
“uh, no problem”, you told her. Trying to go around her, she shifted to the side to stand before you once again  
“I couldn’t help but notice that I’ve never seen your face in my humble, little store before. Are you new here?”, she didn’t seem to notice how uncomfortable she was making you.  
Deciding that lying would not be a good option you decided to tell the truth. Somewhat.  
“No, I’m actually kind of new here. I’m not staying long, tho.”  
She seemed to get a little bit closer at that.  
“What a shame. Your accent, it’s so … exotic. Where are you from, Sweden?”  
“Germany?”, that sounded more like a question on your part.  
“Oh Germany, such a beautiful country. And so Eco-friendly.”  
How could you discreetly walk away without being rude? You looked around, seeing other shoppers watch you with pitiful looks. Was this something that happened often?  
“What brings you into the sleepy town of Raven Brooks?”, her eyes seemed to twinkle, you got the feeling she was one of those people that liked to gossip.  
Awkwardly scratching your neck, you blurted out the first thing that came to mind.  
“uuhh. Studies”, yep conversation skills still fried apparently.  
She wanted to dig deeper, you could see it in her body language but then her eyes fell upon your right shoulder and grew larger, if that was even possible.  
“oh my, those are-, you are- “, only then did you realize you gave her a perfect view of your burn marks. Quickly covering them up again as best as you could you cleared your throat.  
“you are the one they brought into the hospital. The one who got hit by lightning while in the forest”.  
Gossip seemed to be spreading fast in a small town like this.  
Going around her and stuffing canned goods into your basket to flee this store sooner rather than later you went looking for other essentials, while the woman was still following you.  
“You must be so grateful, surviving an injury like this.”  
“Uh-hu”, Trying your best to work fast you put toothpaste and a toothbrush into your basket. Some soap and shampoo were also important. Noodles and rice followed. Soon you were walking towards the cashier.  
“After all, you were found in the forest. And everybody knows that it is quite dangerous there. Well, at least the locals do.”  
Now you were definitely listening more intently.  
“Dangerous? How?”, she gave you another look, but then remembering that you were not from here and explaining what she meant.  
“Well, with all these disappearances, people don’t go there anymore. One wouldn’t want to be the next to disappear.”  
The trailer was in the forest. You should probably head back and do some precautions for the night.  
Finally arriving at the cashier, the woman walked behind it and started scanning your items fast.  
Not wanting to give her anymore opportunitys to grill you, you quickly intercepted with a question that would hopefully steer her off the topics she was asking you about.  
“do you by any chance accepts Euros?”  
She seems to pause at that but nodded while packing you stuff into a large paper bag.  
You quickly handed her the money and took a hold of your bag.  
“Well, it was nice meeting you, but I have to go now. Food’s not gonna make itself, you know. Thanks for the enlightening conversation Mrs.-?”  
“Tillman”, she puffed her chest out after that.  
“Tillman?”, you stuttered. The nagging in your mind was there again. The horrible sensation that you somehow knew exactly what was going on here. Even if your mind wanted to banish the thought because it just couldn’t be reality. Could it?  
You left the natural grocer in a hurry before Tillman could trap you in another conversation. You weren’t feeling like talking right now.  
These thoughts kept circling in your head, this weird feeling like a deja vu. You had been suspicious after learning the name of the town, Raven Brooks. This feeling kept growing after meeting Ike Gershowitz and now Tillman. It sounded so crazy, but at the same time plausible.  
Being trapped in a reality only known to you through a video game. Well, video game and books.  
It would explain why Dr. Malcolm couldn't find your family in Germany or why you yourself weren’t in the authorities’ files. You simply didn’t exist here. Except you did now. Transported here, through lightening, or dying, in your reality. You decided then to visit a special house. If this house and family existed, you could be certain what was going on here. You would accept this weird situation as your new reality.  
Gripping your paper bag tighter you marched in the direction of the old town. You were walking through this part before you came from the forest, so you knew the general direction but had to ask some kids on your way.  
The pointed you to the street you were looking for. Friendly Court. Taking a deep breath to calm your shaking hands and legs you began walking down the calm street. Nobody seemed to be outside at this time of the day, casting the street in eerie silence. From far away you spied a blue house with a red roof and red door. Parked before it, flattening the white picked fence, was a familiar red car. You didn’t need to read the name on the mailbox. Without a doubt this was the house of the Peterson’s.  
So, you really where here. In a game. Or book? You really needed to know which one of it applied to this reality. Maybe both?  
Oh, you were freaking out. Your legs started shaking in earnest, your bag almost slipping from your grasp. What should you do know that you where here? Try to intervene and protect the characters from their sad future? Selfishly keep your knowledge of the future and watch how the events unfold? Where in the timeline where you exactly? Taking some calming deep breaths, you looked at the blue house again. Your frenzied brain immediately clung to the details to not lose your mind over the fact that you were in a fucking game. The house was bigger than the game version, a weird mix between the secret neighbor house and what you imagined from the books. The yard was somewhat unkempt, grass and weeds growing how they pleased. You looked through the windows but couldn’t see anything. It was quiet. Should you look closer? See if the basement door was locked? Shaking your head, you decided now was not the time to act on impulse. First thing should be to figure out where in the timeline was now and what would happen next. Then you would decide what to do.  
Taking one last look at the house you started walking in the direction of the forest. The sun had set while you were oogling the Peterson’s house and now you had to walk back in growing darkness. It felt weird, accepting that the impossible was your new normal. But also kind of liberating FINALLY knowing what was going on. This was a special kind of opportunity. Since the first alpha of the game had been released, you were a huge fan. And now you got the chance to see your favourite characters in flesh and blood. Real persons! A sudden, shameful thought crossed your mind of which character you read dirty fanfics about. Now that there was a possibility that you could cross ways with him, that knowledge mortified you.  
You were so deep in your own head that you didn’t notice a car slow down and drive next to you. Not until the driver rolled down his window and called out to you.  
Almost dropping your groceries, you noticed the car and the person in it.  
“Hey, almost didn’t recognize you there”, Ike smiled warmly at you.  
“You found the natural grocer I see”.  
Remembering your run-in with Mrs. Tillman you made a face.  
Ike laughed at that, seemingly knowing why you did it.  
“Yeah, she can be a handful. I hope she didn’t hold you there for forty minutes, telling you all about her enlightened self”.  
Noticing your bags, he flashed you a smile.  
“Did you find a place where you can stay?”.  
“Yeah, in sunshine fields”.  
He looked taken aback.  
“The old campsite? That’s in the forest”.  
Not knowing what to answer to that you just shrugged.  
“Well, the walk would be twenty minutes if I’m not mistaken. Climb inside, I’ll drive you there”.  
You thought about that. You really shouldn’t climb inside a stranger’s car. But was he really a stranger? You had the knowledge of knowing him through the books and Aaron’s perspective. And you knew that he was a kind guy. Making up your mind you opened the passenger door and climbed inside. He started driving down the road, keeping his eyes straight ahead.  
“So, sunshine fields, eh? Didn’t think one would willingly live on an abandoned campsite. But hey, at least it’s quiet, right?”.  
“Yeah, it really is. I just hope I don’t get the creeps when I have to stay there alone at night”, being honest to him felt good. Like you could tell him everything. So you did.  
“But at least it’s a roof over my head. One less problem I assume. Now it’s just money that’s missing”.  
“I presume you don’t have a job yet?”, he asked.  
Shaking your head, you told him that you were an artist and designer and hoped to find something related to that. Or a minimum wage job. Something to put food on the table.  
“I can ask around town if anybody has a job for you, if you'd like. The least I can do”  
“You already saved my life, I think that’s a big achievement”, you teased.  
Ike chuckled at that. You were nearing the forest. It was now pitch-black outside, making the forest feel uninviting and dark.  
“How about dinner tomorrow?” he suddenly blurted out.  
You looked at him speechless.  
After seeing your look, he chuckled again.  
“No, not like that. Just as friends, you know? My treat”.  
“Are we friends?”, you blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Nice conversation skills, as always.  
He gave a short laugh at that.  
“Well, I would hope so. After all I did drag your butt all the way to my car after the storm. Would only be polite to invite you to dinner.”  
You couldn’t tell him that but out of all the people who could have found you, you were happy that it was Ike. Hoping you smile was enough to transport the message, you nodded.  
“I would like that. How about tomorrow?”  
He agreed to meet you tomorrow at the forest edge at 16:00.  
Shortly after your conversation you arrived at the dirt path that lead to sunshine fields. Ike parked in the little alcove and looked at you.  
“Good night and get home safe.”  
You had to laugh at that.  
“It takes me like two minutes to get to the trailer.”  
He almost looked stern. “Still, be careful. One never knows.”  
And with that, you gave him your phone number, bid him a quiet night shift and got out of the car. He waited a little while, until he couldn’t see you on the path anymore. Then he drove off. 

You pondered what to do, as peebles crunched under your shoes. Ike definitely deserved a better end than what he got in the books. You tried to remember what befell him in these tunnels, only to theorize what really got him. It wasn’t specifically written but you always suspected Theodore had something to do with it. Making up your mind you decided to do your best to shield Ike from his fate. You just needed to know how much time you still had.  
Arriving at your trailer filled you with relief. You wouldn’t outright say it but the fear of something in these woods with you, at night, was just terrifying. You couldn’t wait to barricade yourself inside and wait out the night, if you could even bring yourself to sleep. You quickly grabbed the now dry blanket, took out the key and unlocked the door. Everything still looked the same when you left this afternoon. You closed the windows to keep the still chilly nightair out. Striping down to your underwear you locked the door from the inside and buried yourself in the blankets. The mattress was somewhat soft but firm, a little bit cold but you would make do. You laid awake and listened to the sounds of the forest, your slight fear of the unknown trying to keep you awake. Your thoughts were also quite loud. Some part of your mind still couldn’t believe what had happened, the other had accepted your new reality and proceeded with an almost scary calmness. Trying to shoo your mind to sleep you turned on your side and nestled deeper in the blankets.  
Tomorrow you would drill Ike about everything Peterson related, so that you could build an imaginary timeline. You would save him. Diane too and maybe even Theodore himself from insanity.


	6. Exploration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exploring the territory and trailer you find some interesting stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise update before the new year starts! I already have a good idea where the story will go, so buckle up it will be a wild ride!
> 
> Also on a side note: if any of you are writing HN fics (or any other fandom for that matter) and you are using German language, I can help translate correctly, if you want :)

You were startled awake. Sitting up in bed you quickly scanned the environment. Early morning sunshine shone through the small windows, shedding some light inside the trailer. Everything seemed untouched.  
With a shuddering breath you sank beneath the blanket again, remnants of the dream still clinging to your mind.  
You had dreamed of the neighbor, well Theodore. He chased you through his big, weird house, placing traps and trying to catch you. It ended with him busting through a barricaded door and pushing his meaty forearm through, giving you his signature stare and a devilish smile that showed teeth.  
You were ashamed that you were not only frightened but secretly turned on by your dream. If you wanted to interfere with the story you needed to get a grip on yourself.  
Deciding that you should get going you threw the blanket from you and got out of bed. Changing into your clothes from yesterday you went to the bathroom to get cleaned up, until remembering that you had no running water. Groaning you instead grabbed a granola bar from your grocery bag and started munching. There had to be a way to at least get running water, this was a campsite after all. Deciding to check out the back of the trailer you unlocked the door and stepped outside. Freash air and the noises of the forest greeted you. It was slightly warmer than yesterday but not by much. You could still wear you pullover without getting to hot.  
Rounding the trailer, you were greeted by an overgrown mass of weed and other foliage. Without a tool to cut the weeds down you decided to use your foot to kick down as much of the green as you could. Like you thought, hidden behind the bushes were some connections for water and electricity. Searching around you found two long cables sticking out of the ground, hidden behind long blades of grass.  
The first one was hollow and connected to a hose like appendage sticking out of the ground. Probably the water tube. Connecting it to the trailer you rotated the ventil on the hose. With a groan water flowed through the ventil, filling up the tube. You were surprised it still functioned. After checking that there was no leak you took the other tube and plugged it into the trailer connection. Nothing happened. Deciding to try out if anything changed you went back inside and started the faucet. Milky water spayed out of the faucet, which turned clearer the more you let it running. Satisfied, you checked the fridge next. It lit up as you opened the door, a slight whirring audible.  
How in the world was there still running water and electricity on an abandoned campsite? You werent protesting, that made life a little bit easier for you, but it was still weard.  
If you had checked beforehand you could have bought stuff like milk, cheese and other things. Well, next time, you thought.  
With now running water you took a cold shower the prepare you for the day and to get the last remnants of that dream out of your system.  
Now cleaned up and dressed again you checked you phone. You still had some time to yourself until Ike would show up. You could sit here and wait or maybe explore the rest of the campsite. Deciding that waiting was boring you exited the trailer again. Looking around you first went to the lake. When you first showed up here you thought the lake was clean. Now you could see that it was actually almost crystal clear. You touched the surface, only to recoil at the cold feeling. Maybe in the summer the lake would be warm enough to take a dip. Lakes as clear as this were rare in Germany so you were especially giddy to swim in a place like this. That reminded you, you needed a swimming suit. Filing that information away for later you left the lake and went further down the cobblestone path. Hidden behind trees and bushes were more trailers. They looked much older and decipted than yours. Not wanting to get much closer you walked away. The cobblestone field ended shorty but a small path led father into the forest. Deciding that you had nothing better to do you started walking ahead.  
The foliage grew so thick that it was noticeably darker than on the clearing. The path was also really narrow, meaning only animals probably used it.  
You followed the path for a good while until it grew larger and finally lead you to a barbed wire fence. And enclosed in it was a sight you should have thought about. A giant factory build stood some ways away from the fence. Parked cars and trucks lined its side. This was none other but the Golden Apple Factory.  
And since there was no park in sight, Ted didn’t yet start to build the rotten core; meaning you had to be pretty early in the timeline.  
Letting your gaze wander one last time over the factory terrain you pushed away from the fence and followed the path further from the campsite. There was one last destination that should be around here.  
You couldn’t remember the exact path that would lead you there, only knew it was near the Golden Apple Park/Factory. It took you longer, fifteen minutes to be exact, to arrive at the old weather station once occupied by Ted’s parents. It loomed dark and rusty over you, as if it would crash down the moment you stepped too near. Slowly striding towards it you took notice of its decay. The façade was old and had some cracks. Vines and other weeds were growing along the walls and around the building. You spied a rusty door, barricaded with two by fours. Without a crowbar you wouldn’t be able to open the door. Going around the station you tried to look for another way in. If you remembered correctly, Mya found another entrance when she was here with Aaron. But you went around the whole station twice and couldn’t find anything. Disappointed, you decided to head back to the campsite, there was nothing else you could do here. Following the path back, you admired the untouched beauty of the forest. You had one like this near your hometown too. Remembering your previous reality made you homesick, you had some plans to eventually go back but at the moment you wanted, no needed to help the people here. At least that was what you told yourself.  
A branch snapping in half pulled you out of your review. Turning around and looking for the source of the sound you were met with nothing. The forest seemed extremely quiet now, not even the wind was blowing. Deciding that you were overstaying your welcome you decided to leave. Fast.  
Jogging down the path you tried to tell yourself that there were not a second pair of footsteps following you. That the snapping branches were just sounds a normal forest made. Crashing through the underbush you almost fell face first into the peebles of the campsite. Hectically looking behind you, you tried to see anything in the thick foliage. Nothing moved. After starring another moment, you wanted nothing more than to get to your trailer and lock the door. So you did just that, slammed the door with a little bit more force than necessary.  
Taking some deep breaths, you tried to get your frantic heart beat under control. What was that? Just and animal or something more sinister. The image of a man with a giant beak sprung to your mind. The antagonist of Hello Neighbor 2. A forest protector. Maybe they already knew that you were living here and decided to spook you into leaving. Well, you weren’t leaving. You were staying here until you could save Ike, Diane and Theodore and then they could do their scaring technics.  
Still, after this little scare you determined it would be safer to do some indoor activitys.  
Walking to the closet you shuffled trough the clothes left by the previous owner. You had enough money for food but not for clothes. So sooner or later you had to wear them, if you liked to or not.  
There really was a lot of black, pulling out the first thing that caught your eye you held a kneelenght black dress with white frills in your hand. Cute and definitely something you would wear.  
Laying the clothes on your bed, you started organizing the closet so that you knew what was available to you.  
Juggling some in your arms you tried to shuffle them to your matress, only for some to fall out of your arms and partially under the bed.  
Groaning you bend down to retrieve them, only to stop as you got a good look under the bed. There were some boxes you hadn’t noticed before. Forgetting the clothes, you reached under it and pulled the boxes forward. One was big and made out of wood, the other was a smaller cardboard box.  
Opening the wooden box first, your heart gave a jolt. There were loose papers, sketchbooks, canvases, brushes and various paints inside. Whoever used to live here had to be an artist, just like you. Everything seemed unopened and you couldn’t wait to try them out and relax.  
Setting the wooden box on your mattress, you grabbed the second box. This looked to have been opened already, so you took a careful peak inside. Only to smack the box shut. You were definitely shoving this as far under the bed as possible.  
The previous owner, a woman, now without a doubt, had apparently bought herself some… ahem, fun toys for lonely nights.  
What you had come to look at as you trailer now got that foreign feeling again, like it had when you first got here yesterday. Like you were intruding somehow, as you got glimpses of the person that lived here before.  
Shaking your head, you put the box where you found it and looked at the art box again. You had some more time before Ike would arrive, so you decided to let your creativity flow for a little bit. Grabbing a blank sketchbook and some papers you sat on your bed and began to loosely sketch out some faces and bodies. Your real strength lied with digital drawing but you were also quite good with traditional technics.  
Shading areas of the face you had drawn, you held the book at arm’s length and regarded your drawing. It showed a woman with milky eyes and a black robe, holding a cat skull-like mask over her face. With some gold accents, this would look really good.  
Turning the page, you let your pen swirl over the surface again.  
Letting your mind wander, you didn’t pay attention to what you were drawing. Only when it became clear what, or who, you were drawing did you stop. The familiar face of Theodore Peterson stared back at you, his moustache curling in an almost feisty little smile. Back in your reality you had drawn a lot of Hello Neighbor fanart, but here you really shouldn’t draw characters that could potentially see your sketches. The image of Theodores face also brought your dream to the forefront of your mind again. With a beet red face, you closed the sketchbook with a loud clap.


	7. Knowledge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting Ike for dinner you gain important knowledge and set up a plan for the future.

The black skirt and white shirt really did look good and it hid your lightning burns perfectly. Paired with a black legging you also found in the closet; you were ready to go. Looking at yourself in the mirror, you slowly peeled the band-aids from your face. Some scratches were still red, others were barely noticeable. But it definitely looked better than having a face full of band-aids.  
It was almost 16:00, so you slowly made your way to the forest edge to meet Ike.   
While walking along the dirt path you were brooding. How could you get Ike to talk about Peterson without seeming suspicious? He already told you that he would introduce you two, maybe you could steer the conversation into this direction? And how where you going to intervene in the timeline? Without being on friendly terms with the Petersons, you couldn’t interfere in their destiny and even then, if there was one thing you knew through the books, it was that this family was hellbent on keeping their secrets and strangers out of their business.  
Arriving at the alcove, Ike wasn’t there yet, but probably on the way.  
You still couldn’t believe that you were here, in this reality. Getting giddy at the mere thought of how much luck you had to be transported here and at the beginning of the timeline, as it would seem. With enough time to save some lives.  
In the distance, you could see Ike’s car approaching you. He stopped right beside you, giving you time to get in.   
“Hi Ike”, you greeted as you took your seat.   
Smiling and greeting you back he made a turn and started driving into the town again.   
“So, how was the first night on the campsite?”, he asked and smiled at you.  
“Not as bad as I thought”, you answered, “it was actually kind of nice. After I cleaned the trailer I mean.”  
He chuckled. “That’s good to hear. So, we have a nice restaurant here that serves sushi. I hope you like sushi?”  
“I definitely do!” you laughed.   
The drive to the restaurant was filled with easy chatter. Ike told you about the campsite before it was abandoned.   
“It was actually supposed to attract tourists. So they cut down some trees and planted a campsite there. It was quite popular for a while, because of its location, until the tourist failed to show up after one winter. Then it was just abandoned and forgotten.”   
“That sounds sad. It has a really beautiful lake after all. I can see why they build a campsite there”, you told him. It was true. If the forest wasn’t so creepy it would be a perfect location for holidays.

Arriving at the sushi restaurant you left the car and went inside. The first thing you noticed was its nice interior. A mixture between traditional elements and modernism gave the restaurant its own charm. Choosing a seat by the big windows you sat opposite of Ike on the red seats. Menus were already present, so you grabbed one and looked through the selection.   
In your past reality you often ate sushi with your friends. So the foreign words were nothing strange to you, they even reminded you a bit of home. Deciding on a plate of various sushi, mainly with tuna, you ordered your food and some drinks. Ike got himself a similar plate but with mainly avocado. Putting down the menu he looked at you.   
“So, about that job thing”, he started, getting your attention, “I might soon have something for you but I probably need some work samples, if you have any with you.”   
You had none, since your phone reseted, but you could make some new paintings and designs.  
You told him that.   
“It's nothing solid yet, but I thought I would at least tell you there might be an opportunity in the near future.”  
“That’s nice, thank you”, you were thankful that he took the time to search for a job for you while he surely had better things to do. One more time you were glad that you met Ike from the beginning.  
Your food arrived and you both digged in.   
Ike seemed to consider something, before turning to you  
“What are you going to do now? I mean how long will you stay in Raven Brooks?”  
Stopping in your eating you looked at him. You couldn’t tell him that the sole reason you were staying was his and the Peterson’s fate, that you only knew of because his reality was secretly a video game. You weren’t sure how much of your thoughts had already showed your face so you plastered on your best smile and thought of a plausible lie.   
“uuh, well I’m not sure. I think I’m going to see what the future brings. But I’m definitely going to stay a while. I mean I did arrive here what, three days ago?”  
Ike seemed happy about that and gave you a smile.   
“Good to hear. Raven Brooks may seem like a sleepy town but if you stay here long enough, you’ll see that it has its special places”, he laughed.  
If only he knew that you were definitely familiar with some special places.   
Still smiling you agreed “I bet it has.”  
“Oh, that reminds me, I already told my friend about you and I think you two might meet sometime this week or the next if you’d like”, he excitedly told you.   
While you really didn’t want to meet Theodore if you were being honest, you couldn't intervene if you didn’t establish contact with him and Diane. Mind made up.   
“Yeah I would really like that. You said in the hospital that he went to Germany for a little while? What made them come to Raven Brooks?”, while the topic was already on the Peterson’s you could maybe dig a little bit.   
Ike's face fell a little bit at that.   
Uh-oh, what happened?  
“Well, you see Theodore is a park designer so he is naturally going to different countries because of his job. He build one in Germany if I’m correct. But he came back to Raven Brooks after his wife died.”  
Your face instantly fell at that. Wait what? That couldn’t be, the Golden Apple Park wasn’t yet build, Diane shouldn’t, couldn’t be dead.   
Your emotions must have shown on your face because Ike told you more.   
“Yes, he’s still very grief stricken about that. That’s why I hoped meeting you would maybe cheer him up. He seemed really interest and he doesn’t know many people around here. Well the locals are somewhat mean to outsiders, if you know what I mean.”  
You didn’t but you knew that the whole town somehow thought that the Peterson’s were cursed and after Lucy’s death they became outsiders. Still, it didn’t make any sense, Diane’s death happened way later. Ike seemed not finished because next he said something that really threw you off.   
“And shortly after arriving here his children went missing. How much bad luck can someone have, huh?”  
You didn’t know what to say to that. The whole timeline was simply wrong. How where you supposed to save everyone if half of them already got their bad ending. Diane was dead, Mya probably too and Aaron was already in the basement, wasn’t he?  
You must have been quiet for too long because Ike got a worried look on his face, a crease appearing on his forehead.   
Quick, think!  
“That’s a lot of bad things happening at once. I can’t imagine how he must feel”.   
The crease disappeared but his eyes still held that weird emotion.   
“Yes, he’s not really the same anymore. Like he fell into a deep dark hole and doesn’t know how to save himself. But hey, I’ll help him and I’m sure meeting you will help him too.”   
You hadn’t had the heart to disagree, guessing Theodores reaction based on the books, so you smiled again and nodded at that.  
Conversation seemed to die down a little after that bombshell Ike dropped. Your social skills weren't the best so mustering up every knowledge you had, you tried you darnest to save that evening.   
“Ike, I went into the forest today and found a factory near the campsite?”   
Hoping he would take the bait you watched an easy smile grace his features again.   
“That’s the Golden Apple Factory. They make candy and chocolate there. You should definitely try some, they’re really good.”   
Conversation somewhat saved, you hoped. You drilled him about several other stores and sights of Raven Brooks, already knowing them but wanting to steer the conversation away from Ted.   
It was working as he was animatedly telling you about farmer llama.   
“- and he sells his goat cheese at Tillman’s. I’ve heard he talks to his llamas like they're real people. Not my cup of tea but hey, whatever makes him happy, right?”   
You were now laughing along with him as he told stories of various people inside Raven Brooks and their weird quirks. It felt good to just sit there and laugh along with a friend. It made you temporarily forget that you had partially failed in your quest to save the Peterson’s.   
When you got back to the trailer you had to ponder what to do next. 

You had both finished your food and where sitting in comfortable silence.   
“That was nice”, you told Ike. It was true, you enjoyed the dinner and conversation.   
“Same here”, he gave you a slight smile.   
“I wouldn’t mind doing this more often. Next time tho, I’m treating you”, promising him, this was the least you could do to thank him for all he had done for you.   
“I’m looking forward to it”.  
After Ike paid for both of your meals you left the restaurant. The sun was already setting as you approached his car. You sat in the passenger seat again and as Ike sat in his seat, he turned to you.   
“Anymore plans for the evening?” he asked you, smiling.   
You had to think about that. Maybe you would start with the work samples or go to sleep early and think about what to do now, since you knew what had happened in this timeline.   
“I guess I’ll start with the work samples. I found some art supplies in the trailer, so I should work a little ahead.”  
He nodded. “And You? Do you have work today?”   
He started the car and began to drive to the campsite.  
“Yes, but later. I’ll visit my friend, Ted, today after I dropped you off.”  
You found it remarkable, that Ike proceeded to stand by Theodore even if he had to be difficult, depending if he behaved like in the books. You hoped that he wouldn’t come to regret it later.  
The drive back was quiet after that. 

Arriving at the forest edge, Ike stopped his car. After you left your seat, he bid you good night and drove off to meet Ted.   
On the way to your trailer you had a lot to think about. Leaves and sticks crunched under your steps.   
So, the timeline was not only progressing faster than you had liked but also key events happened before they should.   
You should try to determine if Nicky was already in the basement, together with Aaron. And if so, you needed to know if you should intervene. After all, Nicky managed to escape on his own, maybe Aaron too. You could sit back and watch the events unfold without getting yourself in danger or changing the story.   
Determine that this was a good strategy, you arrived at your trailer. True to your word you started working on some art, copying the lady with the mask onto a bigger canvas and shading some areas with a pen. You could to this in a monochromatic way with blacks and greys. Taking the paints and brushes out of the box, you started laying the colors down.   
Shading the hair and face with some greys, you were reminded how much you had missed this. Doing art digitally was your specialty but taking a real brush now and again always had that feeling to it. Even when you hadn’t had the luxury to simply erase your mistakes with one click of a button.   
Next you started with her clothing. The robe got a nice black layer; painting the skull mask a little darker grey than her face, to get a good contrast.   
While the paint dried you looked through the box again. There were some pens beneath the canvases, mainly colored ones but some graphic liners and markers too. You spied a golden looking marker and reached for it. It still looked usable, so checking the paint again you began drawing in some accents. Some cracks in the skull mask where graced with the golden marker also some rings and other jewelry of the woman.   
Holding the picture at arm’s length you were surprised at how good it turned out. You were definitely keeping this one.   
After sketching some more ideas into your sketchbook you decided to call it a night. Putting the art supplies into the box and the canvas on the little table by the kitchen, you locked the trailer door and got undressed.   
While crawling under the covers, you played the dinner with Ike in your mind again. Tomorrow, you told yourself, you would find out if Nicky was in the basement and plan from there on.


	8. New Objective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> True to your word you go into town, to see if Nicky is already in the basement. On your way you meet a certain someone, whose interest you definetly don't want to arouse.

Waking up from a fitful sleep was never pleasant. You had tossed and turned, plagued by thoughts and insecurities. Your current situation was at fault; trapped here in this reality without knowing what happened next. Your knowledge had given you some sort of power; control. But now without it, you felt helpless and scared. You couldn’t know what happened next and how you should behave.  
Remembering your plan from yesterday, you should first look for Nicky. One step at a time, you told yourself.   
Throwing the covers from your form, you quickly got dressed and went into the bathroom. After getting washed up you told yourself to go to the town square after visiting Nicky’s house, you desperately needed underwear, as you refused to wear the ones present from the previous owner.   
Steeled with new resolve, you unlocked the trailer door and stepped out. It gradually got warmer; summer was definitely approaching fast in Raven Brooks.   
Closing and locking the door behind you, you made your way into town.

It took you some time, as always. The campsite was, after all, a good way from Raven Brooks. Arriving at the outskirts of town (the old part) you made your way to Friendly Court, finding the way more easily after being there one time before.   
You walked down the silent street, admiring the houses and almost peaceful atmosphere, as you spied a blue house in the distance. Stopping right opposite of the Peterson house, you took a good look at it. It hadn’t changed since you visited it last time, still a crashed car on the fence and too quiet on the inside. Looking at the turquoise house behind you, you instantly noticed the car parked on the drive way. So, the Roth’s where home.  
Looking up at the first story window where a trellis covered in vines sat, you could see a little bit inside. Instantly noticing a mop of brown hair and upper face by the window, facing the Peterson’s house. That had to be Nicky, so he wasn’t yet a prisoner of Ted. Meaning that he had to be stalking him and forging plans to break in. If you now could somehow gain Nicky’s trust, then maybe you could go together, preventing him from being locked up while simultaneously saving Aaron from the basement.   
Bringing your mind to work you looked at the Peterson house again.  
Still quiet. Looking through the big windows you could see the living room and partially the basement door, adorned with six different locks. Aaron had to be down there, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense that the door was that heavily protected. Maybe Mya was down there too. With how much the timeline differed from the actual game, you wouldn’t be surprised if she never fell of the roof and died.   
Just then the red front door opened, revealing the man in question himself. You froze. He looked exactly like the game version, strong upper build with thin legs and meaty arms. While he strolled to his car, you tried to catch every detail about him. He looked pale, almost as if he hadn’t seen the sun in weeks and his eyes looked dark with big bags under them. His trademark mustache was curved sharp and a little downturned. You could see some dark splotches on his sweater and pants, probably from working in the basement. Overall, he looked not good, with disheveled hair and a hunched back.   
He stopped right by his trunk, suddenly looking over his shoulder as if he had felt your burning stare. Caught, you quickly turned the other direction and began walking. Not quite running because that would seem suspicious and you didn’t want to give him anymore reasons to keep an eye out for you. Deeming to be a safe distance away you casually turned to look over your shoulder. He had fully turned around, still staring after you. Feeling your face flushing you hurried to the town square.

Your face was still hot with embarrassment as you entered the clothing store. He had seen you staring, you thought. And proceeded to stare after you. He likely thought you were a threat, just like Nicky. And if you weren’t careful, he might deem you dangerous enough to get rid of you.  
Grabbing some packs of dark panties, you hurried to the cash register. You couldn’t wait to get back to your trailer and forget this whole ordeal. Just then you remembered that Ike wanted to introduce you two and you cringed. How could you ever get near him again while you had made that lasting impression. You had made a big mistake with your staring.   
Paying for you wares you left the clothing store. Determined to get back to the campsite as fast as possible, you noticed a familiar sight on the parking spots near the square. A red car was parked there, two figures standing by it and talking. One was Theodore, with his back to you and the other was Ike, who was talking to him with a smile.  
You could sneak away and avoid that possible embarrassing way to be introduced. Just then Ike’s eyes looked in your direction. Recognizing you, his smile grew and he waved you over. Now Ted turned around. His face gave no impression that he even remembered you from fifteen minutes ago. For the third time that day you cringed internally. No way of getting out of this now. Carefully approaching the two, you plastered on a slight smile.  
“Hey, what a coincidence. I just told Ted here to visit you someday on the campsite. That reminds me!”.  
Ike proceeded to introduce you two, likely not seeing Theodore staring at you a little bit to intently.  
“Hi Theodore. Nice meeting you”, you held out you hand, hoping he wouldn’t recognize you and your faux pas. Letting his gaze drop to your hand he seemed to remember what to do when someone greeted him. Grabbing your hand in a strong grip he shook it a few times.  
“Likewise”, he said. Damn his voice was deep. Smooth and yet a little gravely.   
Remembering not to ogle at him to much you instead looked at Ike, who had an amused expression on his face.  
“What are you two doing here?”, changing the topic fast seemed like a good idea.  
“We just met by coincidence. But we’ll soon be off to the Golden Apple Factory. ‘Have some things to discuss, right Ted?”, nudging his friend, who hadn’t stopped staring at you, Ike gave a huge grin.  
Ted seemed free of whatever spell he was under, for he cleared his throat and agreed somewhat unsure.  
“And you, what brings you to town?”, he asked, noticing your bag.  
You couldn’t tell the two men that you went shopping for some underwear. So instead, you told them somewhat vague in the same category.  
“Just some clothes, the trailer doesn’t have everything after all.”, you just hoped they couldn’t see the distinct shapes through the plastic bag.  
Ted’s gaze now wandered from your face to your bag. His stare could have burned it, he was looking so intently.   
Clearing your throat, you tried to hide the bag partially behind your leg to break his stare. He was staring a lot today, not unusual for him but still.   
His gaze snapped back to your face and he gave you a slight grin. Did he secretly knew what you had bought or did he just tried to be friendly now?   
“That’s nice. If you don’t have anything more to do here, Ted could probably drive you home. That way he knows where to go if he wants to visit”, Ike suggested, breaking you out of your thoughts.  
You really didn’t want to drive with him and you really didn’t want Ted to know where you lived. But without seeming suspicious you couldn’t voice your discomfort. So, with cringing a fourth time today, you agreed and got into the backseat of the red car. Ike sat in the passenger seat and Theodore placed himself on the driver side. Giving you a long look in the rearview mirror, Ted started his car and began driving.   
The journey was quiet. Occasionally, Ted would glance in the rearview mirror, catching your gaze with his own green eyes. Your stare wasn’t as intense as his, though.   
His driving style was almost as uncomfortable as his staring. While you anticipated him driving fast, nothing could have prepared you for this. He took curves way sharper than he should and put on the brakes harder than necessary.  
“Tell me”, Ike began suddenly, breaking the silence, “any news on the job front?”  
“Not yet”, you answered, driving your nails into the seat as Ted took another sharp turn.   
Why did the car accident scene tried to push itself into the forefront of your mind?  
“I have painted some things for the work samples, but for designing in need a laptop and maybe a graphics tablet. Until I get more money though, I won’t be able to get those. It’s a vicious circle.”  
“I understand”, Ike seemed deep in thought, probably trying to find a solution.  
Suddenly Ted chimed in: “what about the, ah… market?”.  
You both turned your heads to him. Ted himself took another look in the mirror.  
“The one … on Sunday. You could try selling your art. If you want, I mean.” Falling silent again, his gaze returned to the road, thankfully.  
Ike seemed to knew what he was talking about. He became excited again.  
“The market! Why haven’t I thought about it?”, turning in his seat he looked at you.  
“There’s a market on the town square at Sunday. Everybody can go there and sell something. We had someone selling jewelry once, I think your paintings would go down well”, giving you another smile he turned around again.  
That was actually a good idea. You could do some landscape paintings and maybe watercolor paintings and sell them, saving up some money and waiting for Ike’s job proposal.   
“You think anyone would buy them?”, you asked both.  
Ted nodded and Ike enthusiastically agreed with him.  
It was settled then. When you got back you would start with some watercolor cards and maybe a big painting after that. You were already on the outskirts of town, so you wouldn’t have to endure Ted’s driving much longer.   
It was quiet after that, each of you lost in their own thoughts. Until Ted cleared his throat again. Looking at him expectantly your gaze met his in the mirror.  
“So… you live on the campsite? No fear of being there alone?” he asked in a low tone.  
You didn’t know if he wanted it to sound like a threat, but it did. Was this because of your run in earlier that day?  
“Ted”, Ike warned somewhat.  
You didn’t know what to say to that so you just shrugged your shoulders still holding eye contact.   
He glanced at Ike for a moment, before looking at you again.   
“Just be careful, hng? The forest is a little bit … weird sometimes”, giving you another grin, he drove into the alcove at the forest edge.   
Exhaling, your body lost some of its tension. With shaking hands, thanks to Ted’s driving, you grabbed your bag and opened the door.  
“Thanks for driving me home”, you said. As an afterthought you added: “and it was nice meeting you, Ted.”  
He nodded at that:” it was a pleasure getting to know you. I hope I may enjoy your company more often”, flashing you another grin, bigger this time. It sounded weird how he accentuated pleasure. It almost made you somewhat embarrassed.  
Deciding now was a good time to depart you said your goodbye to Ike and left the car. You could see Ike nudging Theodore again as he watched you get out of his car. With shaking legs, you walked to the dirt path that led to the campsite.  
Holly molly, that was terrifying. It could have gone better but at least he didn’t ask you why you were staring at his house before, in front of Ike. From now on you just needed to be extra careful, so that Ted didn’t have another reason to get suspicious of you. After all, you knew how unpredictable he could be when feeling threatened.   
Arriving at the trailer the last tension in you body left you and your frantic heartbeat finally calmed down. Opening the door, you threw your plastic bag on your bed. Deciding now was a good time to start playing with some watercolor you grabbed the art box and took out some appropriate paper and brushes. While wetting the paper you thought about what to do now. Breaking inside Ted’s home with Nicky was now riskier than before, he knew your face after all. Could you maybe befriend him? Try to reason with him to let his son go? Probably not, he was after all determined that this was the only way to keep the last part of his family.   
Splashing some blues and greens on the paper, you shooed these thoughts from our mind. You would have plenty of time to make a fool proof plan once you got a steady income. Getting a job should be your primary goal for now.  
Steeled in your objective, you added another layer of paint onto the paper. The future would show what it brings. One day after the other.


	9. Behavior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet another important character. A plan begins to take form

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, if you find any mistakes or grammar erros, please tell me so i can change them :)

You had worked way into the night to finish a lot of watercolor cards. Letting them dry you used the last rays of sunshine to start an acrylic landscape painting.  
Now, as you lay in your bed, your back hurt. You had slept uncomfortably, not only because of your back but a weird dream you had. Another one where you dreamt of Theodore, this time he chased you through his basement, full of twists and turns. And shamefully enough you were again turned on. Seems like you liked getting chased, dully noted.   
Standing up from your bed you stretched a little and went to the wardrobe. Since it was now too warm to wear your pullover (and it was dirty) you threw on the black skirt and shirt you had previously worn. Eating some breakfast, you decided to stretch your legs a little bit after yesterdays art rampage. Opening the trailer door, grabbing a sketchbook and pen on your way, you stepped outside.   
Birds were singing and the air was as clean as always. Going along the lake you decided to stay on familiar paths for now, so you headed in the direction of the Golden Apple Factory.   
The forest was quiet, only rustling leaves and the occasional bird broke the silence. It felt peaceful, you couldn’t understand how fast this feeling could change once it turned dark.   
Passing the old abandoned trailers, you thought about your situation with Ted yesterday. It was funny, seeing someone you had adored onscreen standing before you, real and alive. If he wasn’t so scary and probably still grief stricken because of Diane’s death, you would have tried to get to know him more.   
The chain-link fence came into view and with it the busy sounds of the factory. Some trucks were already parked, with huge men unloading crates and other goods. It was busier than the last time you where here, with a group of men with yellow construction worker helmets.   
Sitting down on a tree trunk you took your sketchbook and started loosely drawing the environment. The factory itself was a good start, it stood huge and imposing in the distance, its high chimneys blowing steam into the air.  
It was a stark contrast to the organic forms from the forest around it. Shading the ground, you looked again at the crowd. Spying a blue argyle sweater with a yellow shirt you paused in your sketching. Ted was among the crowd, holding large blueprints and pointing at various points near the factory. So, he was starting to build the park. A cold feeling overcame you. Another added stress factor for him. How was he holding it together now, that he already lost his family and had to build a rollercoaster that would kill another innocent?   
You were pitying him; you knew it but you couldn’t help it. It was not fair, how life treated him, even if he made mistakes in the past, he should get the chance to be happy. Shaking your head for there was nothing you could do to stop the park being build you focused on Ted again. He had stopped gesturing and was now looking at his blueprints. You adjusted your seating on the trunk, which seemed to caught his eye. He looked up from his schematics and looked right in your direction. Feeling somewhat caught you timidly waved in his direction. He gazed at you a little bit longer, then turned to a man in a suit and talked with him.  
Deeming yourself save your turned to your sketchbook again, trying to finish the factory sketch at least until you would go to the campsite again.  
Drawing the last details, you held the sketchbook at arm’s length. Looked good.  
“What are you doing here?”, almost throwing your sketchbook your head swiveled in the direction of the voice.   
Theodore stood there, with his blueprints and yellow helmet, looking as tired and disheveled as before.  
“uuuh… drawing?”, he caught you unaware. You thought he might ignore you, not approach you. It seemed untypical behavior for him.  
Taking his gaze to your sketchbook, his eyes looked intrigued.   
“May I take a look?”, shooting his eyes back to you, you had no choice but to comply. After all, you didn’t want to seem suspicious and had nothing to hide.   
Reaching the sketchbook though the holes in the fence he took it from your grasp, your fingertips touching slightly.   
He looked at the sketch of the factory you had finished moments ago. His eyes roaming around the page, drinking up the details.  
“It’s nothing fancy”, you told him, feeling a little embarrassed.   
“It looks good. Really good”, he told you, turning the page.  
You waited patiently for him to look through your sketches, turning the pages and looking at the different objects in it.   
As he turned the page again, his eyes grew a little bit larger, his stare getting that funny feeling again. You were sure he had that same face when he chased you in your dream. Your face flushed as you were once again reminded of your naughty thoughts.  
“Everything alright?”, you asked, when he didn’t move his eyes from the page.  
His gaze shot up to you.  
“Yes. Yes. You just … have an eye for stuff like that”, he told you, closing the sketchbook and holding it meaningful between you.  
“Thanks?”, you remembered him telling something like that to Aaron. Should you be flattered?  
Taking the book from him you gave him another look.  
His gaze hadn’t lost its intensity, his green orbs boring into yours. You got the feeling this weren’t his laser eyes, as Aaron would put it, because he wasn’t looking like he wanted to murder you though the fence.  
It was something other, some other emotion you weren’t capable of reading in his eyes. The longer you stared back, the more uncomfortable you felt.  
“Aaand … what are you doing here?”, probably already knowing the answer you tried to lay out some bait for him to pick up the conversation and stop staring at you like he wanted to reach through the fence and- And what? You weren’t sure yet.  
His eyes crinkled, he showed you a grin that curled his little moustache upwards.  
“Ah. That’s a surprise. You’ll soon see, wouldn’t want to spoil it”, holding his finger to his lips he gave you one of his iconic poses, still smiling.   
Nodding, since you already knew what was being built here you stood up from the tree trunk.  
“I probably should head back. Need to prepare for the market. Have a nice day, Ted”, waving him goodbye you went along the dirt path to the campsite again.  
Not realizing he was staring at you the whole time until he couldn’t see you on the forest path. Mumbling something to himself, he went back to the crowd.

Arriving back at the trailer you started to look through the outer storage compartments. You needed something for the market, like a small table or a chair. Remembering that you didn’t have any means to transport something like that you groaned. You really had to drag all this by foot then.  
Inside the storage where a lot of tools. You didn’t have a need for them now but it was good to know you had some here. In the back you found a dirty tarp. It was somewhat white and made from sturdy material.  
Maybe you could clean this in the lake and sit on it on the ground. At least it was better than nothing. Removing the tarp from the storage you put it on the side to clean it later.   
Going around the trailer you looked under it to see if there was anything you missed. There, behind some grass was a black steel box. Grabbing it you pulled it from underneath the trailer. Maybe this held something interesting. You had to fiddle with the lock a bit until it snapped open.   
Confused you looked at the object that lay before you. A black baton glinted under the sunlight. Why would the previous owner own something like that? Remembering that there might be forest protectors around, you decided to take the baton inside, just as a precaution. Pulling the box inside the trailer and stuffing it under the bed you returned outside.   
Next you should clean the tarp. Dragging it to the lake you began dunking it inside and scrubbing the grime off. It wasn’t that dirty but it would look better if it was at least dust free.   
You had to be careful to not fall into the lake and get wet, it was still freezing cold. Your hands were a little numb as you scrubbed harder at a particularly nasty spot.  
A branch behind you snapped.  
Whirling around you stopped your scrubbing. Everything was quiet. Maybe it was an animal. Still  
“Hello?”, you called into the silence. As expected, no answer.  
“Ted?”, it could be him. After all, you did see him like half an hour ago. Maybe he decided to follow you. But still there was no answer.  
Warily you let the tarp go and approached the forest line behind the trailer. There was nothing. No sign of anybody being here. Maybe you were imagining things. Turning away again you didn’t catch the footprints that where hidden behind overgrown grass.

The tarp was now as clean as it would get. Hanging the wet cloth over your cloth line, you admired your work. Hands numb and red, you were still proud of your work. It would dry over night and be ready when you needed it. Took only like two hours to get the grime and dirt off of it.  
Your stomach decided to remind you off your needs, so you went inside and got a can of ravioli ready. While your dinner cooked you admired your finished paintings that lay on the table. You had a nice assortment of watercolor landscapes and animals with some acrylic paintings of people and abstract colors in-between. You sure hoped that you could sell some on the market, otherwise you could always use these as work samples.   
Putting some raviolis on a plate you sat on your bed and contemplated your second- no, third meeting with Theodore. It was hard thinking about him with a name, he would always be the neighbor in your eyes. He seemed … different than what you would have expected. Like he really tried to be nice to you, in his own weird way. Or he thought you were stalking him, like Nicky, and kept a close eye on you. Either way, you were surprised.  
Finishing your meal, you put the dirty plate in the sink, you would wash them when you got enough.   
You contemplated what you could do now. You could take a walk again; you still had some daylight left. Or you could do some indoor activities. Like … waiting.   
Yep, taking a walk it is.   
Leaving your trailer, you walked to the path that lead to the Factory. Taking a different turn than before, you walked deeper into the forest. You didn’t remember these paths from the book so you had to guess where you would end up.  
Leaves rustled behind you. Turning around you warily glanced behind you. Just like before, there was nothing there. You started walking again, but were sure you heard steps behind you. Every time you turned around; you would see nothing. Deciding to lose your stalker, you began sprinting. The underbrush grew thicker as you dodged bushes and branches. The steps behind you were somewhat quieter but still there. Whoever this was, he was definitely following you. Rounding a corner, you crashed into something. It was no object, because it screamed as you crashed against it. Rolling over the body, you came to a halt some meters behind it. Looking at what you hit you where greeted with the sight of a young boy sprawled on the forest floor. Your mysterious stalker somewhat forgotten you stood up and approached the boy. With a groan he himself tried to stand up, before noticing you.  
He gave you a surprised look, as if he had seen you before. Giving him a hand, you helped him stand up.  
“Heh, sorry about that”, you said after noticing how much mud now clung to his clothes.  
He looked down at himself and then back to you.  
“uuh, no problem”, somewhat embarrassed he tried to wipe the mud off of himself. No luck there.  
Something about him seemed familiar, you looked at him a little bit more genuine. He had short brown hair, big brown eyes and a somewhat long nose.  
Wait, was this Nicky?  
This was your chance to get in touch with him. He somewhat beat you to it.  
“I know you. You were the one that fled from Mr. Peterson yesterday”, ooof not a good impression there. Nodding somewhat embarrassed you replied: “yep, that was me”.  
He gave you a strange look, as if he was trying to determine if you were trustworthy. Deciding to give him a little push you tried to gain his trust.  
“I saw that locked door and got curious. He must have a good reason to guard that door so heavily. He just spooked me when he came out of his house”.  
Nicky seemed to consider your answer.   
“So, you find him suspicious?”, he asked  
“Yeah, I would say so”, what else should you say? You didn’t want to say too much and scare him away. This could be your only chance to save him.  
He looked at you like he wanted to tell you something, but he was unsure.  
“Did he give you any reason to be suspicious of him?” you asked.  
“Yeah, he- I think he holds someone in his basement. As a prisoner, I mean.” There it was.  
“What?”, feigning shock, looking at him. “Have you told the police?”  
“I did”, he grumbled, “but they didn’t believe me. Took all of my evidence and told me to not stalk him anymore.”  
He had to be pretty frustrated to talk about this with you. Maybe his friends already left him alone with his theory about Aaron’s disappearance.  
Nicky seemed to also think about something, he nodded to himself and gave you a desperate look.  
“My friend is in that basement. I’m sure of it, but I need help investigating. Please, I have no one else to turn to. My friends think I’m crazy.” Seeing the desperation in his eyes made you weak.  
“I believe you, but what do you propose we do to help your friend?”, you asked. You really didn’t want to break into Ted’s house put if push came to shove you wouldn’t let Nicky go in there alone. After all, maybe you could help him not get caught.   
“We need to get him out of there. But first we need a plan. I’ll try to get something together; is there any way I can reach you to discuss a plan?”  
“I live at the abandoned campsite, near the Golden Apple Factory. The trailer near the lake. Most of the time, I’m there.”  
Nicky seemed shocked that someone would live willingly alone in the forest.   
“Ah- okay. I’ll find a way inside and then I will meet you. Thanks for listening and helping.”, he seemed relieved to have found someone with which he could discuss this topic.   
“No problem.”, as an afterthought you told him your name.  
“I’m Nicky. Nicky Roth”, he gave you a shy smile at that.   
“Alright Nicky, keep me updated of Theo- Mr. Peterson. And don’t hesitate to come to me when you have a problem.”  
He nodded. “I will”, and with that he left in direction of the town.   
Now that you stood there alone again you remembered why you ran in this direction in the first place. Your face fell and you looked around yourself uneasily. Time to go back, you thought. Taking the path back you arrived at the campsite without anymore incidents. Whoever chased you left after you met Nicky.  
You still couldn’t believe it. First Ike, then Theodore and now Nicky. You’ve met almost all of the important characters. And you now had a direct link to Nicky. Which meant sooner or later you would have to break into Theodores house.  
Arriving at your trailer you checked the tarp. It was still wet so you left it hanging and went inside.  
After that little scare you decided to stay inside for the rest of the day. The sun was beginning to set, so you had maybe one or two more hours before you could go back to sleep. With nothing to do you busied yourself with some more work for the market and let the conversation with Nicky play one more time in your head. One more person you could save from their fate.


	10. Numb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Theodore again and get some ice cream with Ike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter :D I just like writing these two together, its so much fun! Especially Ted and his weird antics.  
> As always if you find any mistakes, point them out.  
> Comment and leave a kudo if you want <3

Waking up you instantly noticed something wasn’t right. It felt like there was a heavy object in your chest, like you were in physical pain. Groaning you turned on your side. You knew this feeling.  
You had thought that you were simply to busy to have another depression episode, but here you where.  
You couldn’t leave the bed. Didn’t find the motivation to. But you had to stand up, had to look after the tarp and your paintings. Turning again in your bed you pulled the covers over yourself more. If you didn’t even have the power to leave your bed how where you going to save Nicky, Ike and Ted? It all felt hopeless, as if everything you had accomplished so far had been for nothing. You knew that this was just your illness talking but you couldn’t fight against it. Deeming this day one of those lost you looked out of the tiny trailers window.  
It was cloudy, the sun seemed to reflect your mood and hid behind the clouds like you in your bed. A slight breeze pushed against the walls of your refuge.  
All in all the day seemed not as nice as the days before.  
It took some time, took some fighting to finally get out of bed. Checking your phone for the time, you saw that it was already midday. Groggily going into the bathroom, you took a short, cold shower. Now somewhat more awake you stumbled into the main room. Somehow you weren’t hungry so you didn’t eat any breakfast.  
Instead you unlocked the trailer door and went outside. Going to the lake you sat on the small wooden catwalk that protuded into the lake.  
Taking of your shoes you let your feet dangle into the cold water. You could fell it but it didn’t hurt. Your body felt numb.  
Come on, not after I accomplished so much, you thought.  
You couldn’t afford to take a day off and take care if your mental state, could you?  
Suddenly realizing that you should. If you weren’t in top shape when Nicky decided to break in, you would be useless resulting in maybe your death and Nickys imprisonment. Taking a deep breath, you decided to do some exercises. Just then the clouds broke up and sunlight streamed down again. Sitting cross legged in the catwalk you timed your breathing. Inhale, count, exhale, count. Setting up your rhythm you just sat there breathing, existing. Forgetting about Theodore and basements and timelines. Just being there. You body was still numb but the heavy feeling in your chest gradually lessened until you could almost ignore it. You knew it would never really leave you but if you took care of yourself in those situations it would eventually get better. Opening your eyes again you looked out onto the lake. The surface was calm and almost completely smooth. It felt peaceful again.  
Standing up you put on your shoes and went to the trailer again. The tarp was almost completely dry, the sun would do the rest. Your paintings were also ready, having dried over night. You had nothing to do today except taking care of yourself. Taking a bag out of the closet you spontaneously decided to go into town and take a stroll. See what you could find. 

The walk was calm. You arrived at the outskirts of town and decided to go through Friendly Court again to reach the town square. Going by Nicky’s house, you looked up at the window. It was silent inside the Roth's house. Maybe he was outside.  
Turning around you took a quick look at the Peterson's house.  
Only to cringe again. In the living room windows stood Ted, watching you watching his house. Fuck.  
Giving a quick wave you saw him uncross his arms and going to the front door. You watched as he strolled outside and stopped where his lawn met the pavement. Deciding to not seem suspicious you approached him with a smile.  
“Hi Ted”, you greeted him.  
He just stood there and gave a big smile back, showing his teeth. But his eyes didn’t crinkle, they stayed huge and unblinking.  
“Hello again. If I didn’t know it any better, I would say … you are … stalking me”, he looked to the side as he spoke, but didn’t seem to let you out off his sight.  
“Stalking? Me?”, you squeaked. Oh, you were goofed. Dead. He knew.  
“Hnn … yes, you”, his eyes narrowed. Then he tapped you on the nose, he was wearing gloves this time, and let loose a booming laugh, while you stood there flabbergasted.  
“I’m just toying with you”, he laughed and gave you another grin.  
Oh god, either your heart was beating so fast you couldn’t feel it anymore or it stopped.  
Letting out a nervous laugh you scratched your neck. Damn why did you feel hot all of a sudden?  
Pressing his hands to his hips he regarded you for a moment.  
“What are you up to, hmm?”  
You didn’t know what to say. Hey, I had a depressive episode and decided to spy on you and your neighbor? Nope.  
“I was … on my way to the town square. Doing some shopping, sight seeing, stuff like that.”  
You hoped he wouldn’t question it; it did sound plausible after all.  
His grin vanished but his eyes stayed intense.  
“I See”, taking a look behind him at his house he seemed a little bit nervous. Maybe Aaron had given him some trouble today.  
“You need to go to the ice cream shop near Tillman’s. It’s good”, changing topics fast he surprised you. Staring at him a moment until your brain caught up you nodded.  
“Sure. I will try some”, after that he just resumed staring. Neither of you spoke.  
“I’ll be off then. Have a nice day”, fleeing the conversation seemed like a good idea.  
“You too”, he gave you a genuine smile at that, before his grin turned devilish.  
“And if you need me for any more drawing material, you know where to find me”, and with that he turned and walked back inside his house.  
What? Drawing material? Frantically going through your memories, your brain came up with your meeting yesterday at the factory, as he looked through your sketchbook. Shit. He must have seen the sketch of his face you made when you first arrived. And now he probably thinks you’re a creep or have the hots for him. Feeling heat creep up your face you hurried along the street and hoped Theodore didn’t see how you turned as red as a tomato. 

Town was a little bit busier than you would have liked. It was Saturday after all and people tended to go shopping on the weekend. You strolled along the different shops that were present. There was the natural grocer and the clothing shop you already visited. Some small shops with various items were strewn here and there. Your eye caught a little handcraft shop nestled between a candy shop selling Golden Apple Candy and the clothing shop. Surprised, you entered the store. There were different papers and paints for every occasion. A young woman smiled encouragingly from behind the counter as you entered. So much artistic stuff here, if you weren’t careful, you would probably buy way too much and have no more money for food!  
Stopping by canvases of various sizes you tried to make a mental list of what you needed. Some colors were already dried up or almost empty, you also needed some big canvases. You looked longingly at the expensive watercolors. Someday, you told yourself, when you had some spare money.  
Bringing you items to the cash register, the woman took them and put them in a paper bag. Paying for your goods you left the store again.  
Looking at the natural grocer, you decided to buy some food to stock up your fridge, since it was now functioning. Entering the store, you glanced at the different isles, hoping to spy and avoid a certain person. Finding no Tillman anywhere near you, you deemed it safe enough and went deeper inside. Grabbing a basket, you began filling it up. Some marmalade and bread were always a good option. Some meat that you could put in your canned soups or grill in a pan also found its way inside your basket. You were so engrossed in deciding if you should buy some sweets that you didn’t notice a person sneaking up on you. Only when someone tapped you on the shoulder you turned around, already fearing Tillman had found you.  
Ike’s smiled as you exhaled, feeling tension leaving your body.  
“What? Did you expect someone else?”, he teased.  
“Ugh don’t remind me please”, you really didn’t want to think about Tillman at the moment. The frizzy haired hippie was hopefully somewhere far away.  
“Shopping for some food I see”, he began while holding onto his own basket filled with various items.  
“Yeah, I got the fridge running so I thought I would buy some more food stuff”, deciding to indulge him a bit you added “I also saw Ted on my way here.”  
Ike seemed pleasantly surprised by this.  
“Really? That’s nice. How was he?”, he asked.  
You had to think about that. He was still weird, staring at you and jumping from topic to topic. But he looked better, more put together. His sweater and pants were clean and his hair combed. His mustache was crisp as ever and he looked like he got a little more sleep. While you wouldn’t tell Ike the specific details of your observations you decided to tell him a little bit simpler that Ted seemed to be doing better than your first meeting.  
“I think good. He came outside to greet me and recommend me an ice cream shop near the town square.”  
Ike’s face relaxed at that. He seemed to have anticipated Ted’s weird quirks to drive you away.  
“That’s good to hear. I’ll go pay and meet you outside? Maybe when can check out the ice cream shop after?”, nodding you proceeded to pack items in your basket while Ike left.  
Tillman was already at the cash register but so engrossed in a conversation with a woman, that you hoped she would ignore you.  
Arriving at the register you stocked your wares onto it. Tillman spared you a glance and then did a double take.  
“Well, well, well, look who stumbled into my little store again”, flashing you one of her annoying smiles she waved to the other woman who stood perplexed beside her.  
“I just told Tina here about your courage, living alone in the forest and this whole storm situation.”  
Great, you evolved into the top one gossip story in Raven Brooks, thanks Tillman.  
You decided to shrug, maybe she would get the hint and shut up.  
“I also heard that you have some ties with that security guard, what’s his name again? And our … special resident Peterson.”  
Was she seriously trying to get some juicy details about Ted through you? You decided to toy a little bit with her, just to let her fall in the end like a hot potato.  
“Yes, we’re friends, Ike, Theodore and me. Good friends, I would say”, she leaned a little more in your direction while slowly scanning your items.  
“I heard that he has not many people in this town who are nice to him. So, I befriended him”, take that Tillman! That it was actually Ike wo introduced you was a detail she didn’t need to know.  
A little taken aback Tillman gave you your bag. She and Tina seemed a little shocked at being called out like that.  
“If you would excuse me, Ike waits for me outside”, and with that you left the two flabbergasted women.  
You weren’t really the type to pull a stunt like that, I just wasn’t fair how this town treated Ted and the people that were nice to him, like Ike. You just had to do something.  
Stepping outside you saw Ike standing some ways away with his bags at his feet. Seeing you approaching him, he smiled.  
“I’m pretty sure Ted meant this one”, Ike pointed at a little ice cream shop right beside the natural grocer. It looked cute with its retro themed interior and white, red and baby blue color scheme. Going inside, a bell chimed above the door, announcing your presence.  
The man behind the cashier looked up.  
“Good day, what can I get for you”, taking a spatula he waited for your orders.  
Ike choose a combo of vanilla and chocolate ice cream while you looked at the menu. There were some really exotic variants, like green tea and mango. Deciding on some woodruff and blue moon ice cream, you paid the employee and took your orders. Leaving the shop with Ike behind you, you stood on the town square, happily eating your ice.  
“Any more plans for today?”, you asked Ike. He munched a bit on his chocolate ice cream before answering your question.  
“I wanted to visit Ted. The groceries are for him, I just had the feeling that he needed them. Want to come with me? I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you again”, you weren’t so sure about that, but decided to still go with him. If Ted wanted you to go away, he would probably say so.  
Together you walked along the newer streets to Friendly Court, while eating your steadily melting ice cream.  
“Are you excited about the market tomorrow?” Ike asked you.  
“I am, I sure hope that at least someone buys my paintings. Would be a shame to drag all of my stuff to the town square just to leave empty handed”, this was actually one of your fears. Running out of money, with no means to get food and starving in your small trailer. You just hoped Ike’s job proposal would save you from that fate. Still eating your ice, you looked at Ike. He seemed at little bit tense. But as he noticed you stare, he shot you a smile. Deciding to let it go, you focused on your own thoughts again.

Arriving at Friendly Court, the whole street was quiet under the afternoon sun. You could see Ted’s house from where you were standing. His car was there, so he was still home.  
Ike approached his lawn; you were a little more cautious. If there was one thing the game had taught you, it was that Ted was extremely aggressive once you stepped on his turf. Earlier that day you had talked with him on the pavement, so you weren’t sure how he would react to see you on his doorstep. Ike turned around.  
“No need to be shy. Come”, giving you another smile, he seemed to notice how reluctantly you stepped on the grass. Standing a little behind Ike, you watched as he used the doorbell. The ringing sound made you anxious, as did the footsteps that marched towards you. Every instinct told you to book it and get out of there as fast as possible. You did nothing of the sort as the door opened and Ted revealed himself.  
His gaze stayed on Ike for a while, before flickering to you. Did you imagined things or did his eyes turned gentler?  
“Hey Ted. I brought you something”, Ike showed him the paper bag he was holding.  
Bringing his gaze back to his friend he nodded and gave his thanks, taking the bag from him.  
“And I also brought our friend along”, with this, Ike brought an arm around your shoulder and dragged you a bit forward, so that Ted got a good look at you.  
“Come in”, Ted purred. You would have never thought that he would let you inside his house willingly. You just hoped Nicky didn’t saw you.  
Stepping around Ted you entered his house. It smelled a little stale, like he hadn’t opened his windows in a while. Ike also stepped inside and Ted closed the door. With no idea where to go, you automatically went into the living room. Ted’s gaze burning in your back, you tried your hardest to not look at the big basement door.  
While Ike sat on the blue couch and continued eating the last of his ice cream, Ted went with the paper bag inside the kitchen to stow away the groceries.  
Uneasily risking a glance at the heavily locked door, Ike cleared his throat.  
“He has some … special ways to deal with his grief. His son always used to go into the basement. I think he feels better locking it all away, metaphorically “, he told you in a low voice.  
So that was why Ike didn’t seem suspicious of the door. He thought Ted was just grieving in a weird way, not holding someone prisoner.  
Just then Ted returned from the kitchen, shooting Ike a quick glance before letting his gaze settle on you. It didn’t stay there long, his eyes flickered down to your hand.  
“Your ice cream is melting”, he deadpanned.  
“Scheiße”, you spat. You were so distracted with this whole situation that you didn’t feel your ice melting in your hand. You started licking the melting substance off your hand, noticing how Theodore’s eyes seemed to practically stick to your tongue.  
After your hand was mostly ice free you started licking the last bit you had left, so that it wouldn’t start to melt. Ted was still staring at you with wide eyes, his lips opened a bit like he wanted to say something. Ike was watching the whole scene with a bemused expression on his face.  
Feeling his stare, you locked eyes with Ted. Well, that was embarrassing, why is he giving you that look? Ted seemed to notice too how he was behaving, so he cleared his throat and looked at Ike again.  
“Thanks for the … groceries”, he mumbled distracted. Ike shot him a smile and nodded.  
“No problem, buddy. You know you can count on me.” It was actually kind of cute, seeing them interact with each other. It showed a gentler side of Theodore, one you had gotten glimpses of in the books.  
You had finished your ice cream by the time Ted got the courage to look at you again.  
“Was it Good?”, he asked.  
You enthusiastically nodded, it really was.  
He shot you a genuine smile, one where his eyes crinkled at the edges and his moustache curled upwards.  
Suddenly remembering something he pointed at the couch where Ike sat.  
“Go sit down, I’ll get you something to drink. What do you prefer?”, now he was in full host mode it seemed.  
“I’ll take some tea if you have any.”  
“Same for Me”, said Ike.  
Nodding, Ted vanished into the kitchen again.  
Ike looked after him, then turned to you.  
“I’m really glad you know”, he began suddenly.  
Surprised you looked at him to continue.  
“Not everyone would have treated him like you did. Like a normal person, even though he can be a little bit difficult sometimes. I think it helps him. Being with people that want to help him. You and me”, Ike gave you a heartfelt smile at that.  
You were surprised but also happy at Ike’s revelation. Knowing that his friend thought Ted did better because there where two people keeping him sane, even when you were not his family, gave you a fuzzy feeling. You felt your heart go warm. Maybe he was right. Maybe you could keep him sane and help Nicky save his son. It wouldn’t be a true happy ending but maybe, just maybe it would be the ending he needed.  
Ted returned with three steaming mugs, which he placed on a low table near the couch. He sat down on his orange plush chair and took his own mug.  
He gave you another slight grin and took a sip of his still boiling hot tea. Cringing internally but not letting anything show on your face you tried to give him a friendly smile back. That had to burn his tongue but he didn’t seem fazed.  
“So Ted, want to tell our friend the big secret?”, Ike nudged Theodore, who in turn gave him a tired look.  
“You know I am not supposed to give any information until it is official”, Ike pouted at that.  
“But I know.”  
“You work there. That’s normal for you to know.”  
Still not giving up, Ike pestered him until he caved in. You would have thought that Ted might get annoyed and throw you both out but he seemed to almost want to tell you this secret, even if he tried to hide it.  
“Yes, alright. I’ll tell her”, turning to you he placed his mug on the table.  
Clasping his hands together he gave you a strange look.  
“I'm sure Ike already … told you a little bit about me”, you carefully nodded. What could both men possibly hide from you? You hoped it was nothing bad.  
“Well, I have a job here. I am supposed to work on a special roller coaster, the Rotten Core, for the Golden Apple Factory. They are building a park, and I am their designer.”  
Thank God it wasn’t anything gruesome. Remembering that he was waiting for your reaction you plastered on your best smile and shouted excited.  
“That’s so cool Ted. A park right here in Raven Brooks.”  
“I hope you like Roller coasters, because once it’s finished, I’ll take you there”, this time his grin got wider, his eyes again unblinking.  
Suddenly remembering the Lucy incident, you fought to not let your shock be seen on your face.  
“That’s exciting. When will the Rotten Core be ready?”, why does he want to take you on it?? In the books he was adamant about not letting his kids near it. Maybe he knew it was faulty and this was his way of getting rid of you. He was suspicious of you after all, having been playing you all along.  
While your thoughts kept screaming at you, Ted answered your question.  
“They’re just starting to buy the materials. Maybe six months until it is ready”, he seemed excited, talking about his passion. That could potentially kill you. Oh you were dead, how were you supposed to break in if he was already so suspicious of you that he wanted to kill you. But only in six months, that gave you some time. You had to talk with Nicky about time management.  
Needing some distraction, you grabbed your drink and took a careful sniff. Smelled like mint.  
“It is not poisoned. Don’t worry”, he gave you a wink, trying to be funny. Would he actually poison you? In front of Ike?  
Taking a careful sip, you deemed him clever enough to not kill you while a witness was present.  
It tasted good, still a little bit hot but bearable.  
Ted seemed to wait for your approval so you told him that I tasted good.  
Smiling to himself and nodding he leaned back in his chair.  
Ike picked up the conversation.  
“That’s also where my job proposal would come from. They have some walls and signs that could use some creativity. I’m just waiting for the decision of the higher ups”, he also grabbed his mug and started blowing to cool it down.  
“Like What? A big sign that says Rotten Core?”, you already had some ideas but needed more infos if you were to paint them something.  
“Something like that”, Ted told you vaguely.  
Drinking some more tea, you shot Ted another look. He didn’t let you out of his sight. Always watching your face and body for minimal changes. You felt trapped under his stare. You needed a moment to compose yourself.  
“Ted, may I use your bathroom?”, he gave you an uncomfortable stare, likely seeing through you. But then he nodded.  
“Of course. The door behind me, then left through the kitchen. It’s the door at the end of the hallway.”  
Thanking him you went around his seat and walked through the door leading to the kitchen.  
Taking a look around, you were surprised how much like the game the interior looked. Everything was there. From the big windows to the broken table that was haphazardly fixed. You shouldn’t linger here. Going to your left you spied a big wardrobe and next to it the door to the bathroom. Closing the door behind you, you exhaled loudly. One moment you really liked Ted and felt happy and the next you were fearing for your life. Your relationship with him reminded you of a rollercoaster, with its constant twists and turns. How fitting.  
Grabbing the sink, you stared at the mirror above it. Your reflection looked tired, your fitful sleeping showing its impact. You also had a little bit of ice cream on your nose. How did that get there? Splashing a little bit water onto your hand you rubbed the ice away.  
You could do this. Just sit there, let them talk and then leave the house together with Ike. Tomorrow was the market. Your chance to get money. Focus on that. One day at a time.  
Splashing cold water again this time over your entire face to cool of. You heard the low murmurs of Ted’s voice through the walls. He was to quiet to understand but then Ike chimed in.  
“I’m sure. Believe me. I think she does”, were they talking about you?  
Ted answered, again too low to understand. His deep voice was reverberating through his house.  
“You’re doing good. And she thinks so to. Don’t beat yourself up over it”, well now you felt somewhat awful. Maybe you were imagining his threats. After all, the timeline differed from what you knew. Maybe his rides didn’t kill anybody. And you gave him the impression that he somehow fucked up his interactions with you. Now you felt really awful. Deciding to somewhat save the situation you left the bathroom and went through the kitchen again.  
Arriving at the living room you gave Theodore a genuine smile. Hoping that this would show him that you didn’t think he was behaving weird.  
He seemed to get the message as his expressions turned from somewhat depressed to a warm grin. Damn he looked adorable. Blushing slightly, you sat beside Ike again who overall seemed pleased.  
“I see you got rid of the ice cream”, Ted teased while pointing at his own nose.  
You pouted playfully: “How mean, to not tell me that I have something on my face.”  
Ike laughed at that.  
“Well, you looked cute. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you”, Ted chuckled.  
You were definitely red now. He thought you looked cute? With ice cream on your nose?  
Clearing your throat, you squeaked a “thanks?”.  
Were your eyes deceiving you or was Ted blushing? What was happening?  
Ike looked out of the window and seemed to remember something.  
“Crap, I need to get to my car. My shift starts soon”, he stood up from the couch.  
Ted rose too, giving him a glance. “Yes. Yes. Your shift”, he glanced at you.  
“You should get back to your trailer before it is too dark outside.”  
Nodding you also rose from the cushion. Ted brought you to the door, while Ike and you left the house.  
“Thanks for visiting me. And the groceries”, he looked at you seemingly not done with talking. He opened his mouth, closed it and grumbled to himself. Confused you tilted your head.  
“Get home safe”, he added. You had a feeling that this wasn’t what he wanted to tell you.  
“Thanks, I will. And thank you for letting us stay. It was really nice”, shyly moving a strand of hair behind your ear you glanced at his shoes.  
He cleared his throat again. You liked to believe it was his way of telling you he enjoyed your companies.  
Waving goodbye to him and Ike, you went to the town edge, while Ike jogged to the newer part of Raven Brooks. 

Arriving just in time to see the last rays of sunshine disappear behind the forest trees, your trailer stood like a hopeful beacon against the dark. Quickly checking the tarp, it was now bone dry, you folded it together and pulled it inside. Laying it near the table where all of your art sat you checked the windows to make sure everything was closed. Getting undressed you quickly went under the covers of your bed.  
Tomorrow was the market and you would give it your all.


	11. The Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> True to your word you try to sell your art at the market to gain some money.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one this time. Next one will be longer and more exciting :)   
> As always, write me my spelling mistakes and leave kudos and comments if you want to <3

You had woken up earlier than expected. Having another weird dream that you didn’t remember this time, you felt somewhat more rested than usual.

Throwing the covers from you, you checked the closet for something nice to wear. Deciding on some black pants and a green shirt you got dressed and went into your little kitchen area. The groceries from yesterday were all safely tucked away in your fridge, so you took out some marmalade and made yourself a sandwich.

While munching on your breakfast you thought about the day. Ike didn’t tell you when the market started but it would probably be pretty early. You needed a means to transport your paintings safely, maybe there was a bag tucked away in the closet?

Finishing your meal, you stood up and looked through the various clothing for something like a bag.

Right there, behind the winter boots at the bottom was what looked like a black backpack. Grabbing it and pulling it out it indeed was one. It looked almost new and you could hold a lot of stuff inside it.

Grabbing your cards and canvases you carefully stuffed them inside the backpack. It barely fit but you would manage. The tarp wouldn’t fit so you just had to carry it.

Deeming yourself ready you grabbed the backpack and slung it over your shoulder. Grabbing the tarp, you went outside and locked the trailer door.

You turned around but stopped. Where these footprints by you trailer? Investigating, you looked at them closer. They could be yours but you weren’t sure. You also hadn’t heard anything in the night and you were a light sleeper, if someone was snooping around you would have woken up.

Ignoring the footprints for now you turned and made your way into town.

It was almost natural to pick the route that would lead you through Friendly Court. Looking at the quiet blue house, memories from yesterday came to your mind. How Ted seemed to always look at you, his eyes catching every little motion you made. How he smiled, his moustache curling upwards. Why was your heartbeat going faster while you thought these things about Ted? Shaking your head to clear your thoughts, you looked through the windows. You couldn’t see him inside but his car was parked, so he was home. Maybe he was taking a nap or was in the basement looking after Aaron.

There was no reason to stick around so you went along the road that would lead you to the town square.

While the square was pretty empty while you were here yesterday, it was now full with little stands showing various goods. You could see a farmer with his vegetables, a stand that was selling fish and one even had funny clothing. 

Deciding to place your makeshift stand between an old woman’s fruits and a younger man that sold various stuff made from wood, metal and ceramic.

You put your bag on the ground and prepared to open the tarp on the ground.

“Oh dear. That won’t do”, the voice of the old lady suddenly said beside you. Stopping in your endeavor you looked at her questionably.

“I have a small table in my trunk. I’ll let you borrow it for today, what do you say?”

You gaped at the old woman. Did you hear correctly?

“I- that’s-. Thank you! That’s really kind”, you gave her a big smile.

“No problem, dearie. I couldn’t let you proceed to sit on the cold ground now, could I?” she pulled a small retractable table out of her car’s trunk and gave it to you.

With some fumbling you got it to stand and pulled your white tarp over it.

Now settled you opened you backpack and pulled out your artworks. Laying the big canvases on the back end of the table and the small cards more in the front. The old lady looked intrigued.

“So, you are and artist. These are really beautiful”, giving her a smile while laying some brushes as decoration you answered: “Yes, I thought I might try to sell some of them. And thanks for the compliment.”

She got a thoughtful look for a moment.

“You remind me of a young lass that used to sell her art here a few years ago. She was a real nature lover. Where did she live again? The old campsite?”

As the old woman grew quiet again so did you. Was this mysterious woman maybe the previous owner of your trailer? It would make sense if you thought about it. The not so old trailer, the art supplies and the obvious woman … toys.

“What happened to her?”, you asked. Maybe you could at least solve this mystery.

“I’m not sure. She just didn’t show up one day. Some say it’s because she lived in the forest, that … you know. She disappeared.”

Forest Protectors. Without a doubt. It would make sense why you found the trailer untouched with all her previous stuff. Cold dread washed over you. Would the same fate befall you if you lived there long enough?

“But that’s in the past now. No need to dwell on it. I’m Margaret, by the way.”

You introduced yourself to her in turn.

She seemed to notice that it was a foreign name but didn’t comment on it.

Margaret busied herself with placing more fruits on her stand. You on the other hand decided to do some people-watching.

You spied some family’s with children, holding hands and strolling through the stores. There were some couples walking along side another and teenager groups deep in conversation. There was also a lonely man with a big torso and spindly legs … and a blue argyle sweater with a yellow shirt. He seemed to look for something, scanning the crowd. Then his eyes landed on you and stayed there. He hurried along the people and reached your little stand.

Smiling you greeted him: “Hello Ted, nice to see you again.”

He gave a grin. Standing before you, he looked better, like he got enough sleep and ate more. Probably thanks to Ike’s groceries from yesterday.

Ted crossed his arms behind his back and took a good look at your paintings. His eyes roamed around every piece individually, drinking up the details and colors.

Setting his gaze on a particular piece, he pointed at it.

“How much for this one?”

You looked to where he was pointing. It was a small watercolor card depicting a tiny house on a snowy hill with oranges and pink in the background.

“The small cards are 10 dollars. The bigger pieces are 35 to 50 dollars.”

“Hnnng … I’ll give you 25 for it.”

You laughed at that.

“Teddy, that’s not how negotiating works”, he seemed not to care for he just smiled at you. Just then you noticed your slip up. You used the cute variant of his nickname. He didn’t seem to care, if anything, he even seemed pleased you used his nickname.

Pulling out his wallet and handing you the money, he careful took the art piece. You noticed that he wasn’t wearing his gloves at the moment, he was probably only wearing them when he was at his house.

Running his fingers over the dried paint he told you “It reminds me of my house. Was it by chance the inspiration behind this piece?”

You nodded; you drew this after your first meeting with Ted.

“I thought so. It’s like I said, you have an eye for drawing”, he said.

Holding onto his piece he looked at his watch.

“I need- need to get back but I wish you a productive day. We'll see each other very soon, I hope”, and with that he gave you one of his signature grins and turned around. Pretty soon you had lost his back in the crowd of the market. You hoped so too, otherwise your problems would just grow bigger.

You wouldn’t have thought it, but it was indeed a productive day. A lot of people stopped by your stand. The watercolor cards were a really hit but two of your big canvases were also bought. One surprisingly by Tillman. _Unsurprisingly_ though, it was one of the more abstract pieces. 

You had made 150 dollars so far, a good score for doing this the first time. As the sun began to shine lower and lower you decided to pack up. There weren't many people left on the town square so it wouldn’t hurt to go back to your trailer and rest a little bit.

Stuffing the rest of your art into your backpack you folded the tarp together and helped Margaret put the table back in her trunk. After saying your goodbye to her you made your way back to the forest edge.

Naturally taking the way that lead through Friendly Court.

The sun was now setting, casting the street into a golden glow. Standing by Theodore’s house, you could see him sitting on his plush chair watching Tv. Her didn’t seem to notice you, so engrossed in his show that he was watching.

“Pssst.”

Surprised, you turned around. Nicky’s window was open, giving him room to partially lean out and stare at you.

“What are you doing here?”, he whispered at you.

“Uuuh, I was at the market?”, holding up your tarp as proof.

“Be careful or he'll see you. Go around my house, I’ll meet you there”, and with that he closed his window.

Perplexed you complied with his wishes, going around the house into the yard of the Roth’s.

You just hoped his parents wouldn’t see you sneaking around their property.

Standing by the white picket fence you waited for Nicky. He didn’t keep you waiting long, sneaking outside through the backdoor.

“So”, he began as he approached you. “I’ve began studying his routine and I'm pretty sure I got a good picture of how he spends his days again. My plan is almost finished I just need one more day of observation.”

Well that was fast. You knew that he was clever, but his determination made him even faster.

“Good to hear”, you answered him.

“I’ll come to your trailer tomorrow so stay home, okay? Then we will discuss the plan in detail”, nodding to him, he vanished inside the house again. Quickly exiting his backyard, you took one last glance at Ted’s house. He wasn’t on his chair anymore and his TV was off. You thought you saw a glimpse of him in the kitchen. He was probably making dinner.

Deciding not to linger you made your way back to the trailer.

The forest was quiet as you walked along its path. The alcove that lead to Sunshine Fields was still a little bit away but the sun had already vanished behind the horizon. With the darkness came the uneasiness about being in the forest alone. Your thoughts wandered back to the woman who had lived here before you and probably fell victim to the Forest Protectors. Glancing around you and noticing how quiet the forest was you sped up your walk. You really didn’t want to be here alone, in the dark. The sign that once belonged to the campsite came into view. Not much longer and you would be in the relative safety of your trailer. Branches creaked beside you, spooking you into stopping. You were sure you saw something move. Standing completely still and staring into the darkness you felt cold dread clench around your insides. You didn’t like this one bit. Just then an almost throaty creaking sound reached your ears. One you perfectly remembered from a certain game. Belonging to a beaked individual adamant about chasing.

Without a second thought you sprinted down the path to the campsite. If that really was the Guest, or Forest Protector or whatever it wanted to be called you wouldn’t stick around to find out.

Leaves and sticks crunched under your shoes as you desperately tried to reach your trailer. You could hear bushes rustling behind you, the croaking now louder.

You could see the trailer gleaming in the distance like a hopeful beacon offering safety.

Pumping your legs faster you hoped you had enough time to unlock the door before you were attacked. Already fumbling for the key, you reached the door. Faster than ever before you unlocked the trailer door, almost jumping inside and slammed it shut behind you. Moments later something heavy crashed against the side of the trailer, momentarily stunning you. You quickly locked the door from the inside.

Panting heavily, you waited for the Guest to bust down the door. To reach inside and grab you with its long, sharp hands. But nothing happened. You could her rustling outside and some more croaking. Carefully looking out the tiny window you saw it staring back. It had resemblance with the Guest you knew but it looked different. Its beak was dirty and almost bone white in color. The shirt it was wearing was black and red stripped. Every other detail was hidden by the shadows. It leaned its head to the side, eyeing you. Then it turned around and went into the tree line leading to the Golden Apple Factory.

You still stared after it even after it was clear that it wouldn’t return. Your heartbeat was still frantic and you could feel your whole body shaking. That was way to close. You thought that you had more time before they became aggressive but apparently your time was up.

Still shaking you double checked every lock the trailer had. Deeming them safe you reached under your bed, fingers skimming over the box holding the baton. You wouldn’t sleep today, that much was certain. Armed and with your blanket slung around you, you waited for the sun to come up again and save you.


	12. Nicky's Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicky approaches you with his plan to break into the Peterson house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yai! another chapter. had so much fun with writing some action! Next one will be a little fluffy.  
> As always, point out mistakes, comment and give kudos if you want to <3

You hadn’t slept. How could you, knowing there was immediate danger out there? Even if the Guest didn’t return you had trouble even thinking about sleep. Now your eyes burned, your back hurt from sitting uncomfortably all night and your mind felt heavy.

You just hoped you would get a good night’s sleep this evening with no unpleasant surprises. Standing up your stiff joints creaked and popped.

Deciding on a cold shower to wake you up you stripped your clothes from the day before and stepped under the small shower. The water was frigid but it would hopefully suppress some of your tiredness. While working some shampoo in your scalp you thought about your encounter with the Guest and what you remembered from the game. It was still in alpha phase so the gameplay was not polished, maybe some mechanics wouldn’t work. You remembered that the Guest was somewhat afraid of light. Maybe you could acquire a flashlight to protect you at night or a big lamp that could flood the trailer with enough light to drive away unwelcomed _Guests_.

Turning of the shower you stepped out and dried yourself off. You felt somewhat more awake but that probably wouldn’t last long. Deciding on a light breakfast you got some toast ready. You didn’t really have anything planned today expect for Nicky who wanted to discuss his plan. And you made good money yesterday, so there was nothing wrong with taking the day off and doing some selfcare to help you forget the ordeal from yesterday’s night.

Stretching a little you stood in front of the closet. There were some really nice shirts you could wear with the black pants from yesterday. Choosing a black one with a print you quickly got dressed.

Taking your breakfast, you unlocked the door and cautiously opened the trailer. Normal sounds of the morning greeted you. Some birds were singing and the lake made quiet noises. Stepping outside you closed the door behind you and looked around. No sign of someone waiting around the campsite. Looking at the door you noticed some handprints that were definitely not from you. They were bigger and sharper, belonging to the Forest Protector you encountered yesterday. Probably grabbed onto the door after it crashed into it.

Letting the door go you went onto the catwalk by the lake to sit down and enjoy your breakfast.

The toast was warm, satisfying your grumbling stomach as you had not eating anything since yesterday morning. You had planned to make dinner once you got back but then the fear of an attack kept you on edge and food was forgotten.

Rustling from the forest made you pause. You thought the Guests only attacked when it was dark. Tensing your body, you waited for whatever was making that noise to breach the forest edge.

Just then the bushes parted, revealing Nicky. You exhaled, relaxing back in your comfortable position.

Waving him to you, the lanky boy approached you somewhat cautiously.

“man, you look bad. Everything alright?”, it was cute of him to ask but you couldn’t burden him with the news of a Forest Protector attacking you.

“yep, just didn’t sleep as good as I hoped”, you answered him.

He seemed to want to question you but instead nodded and left it at that.

“Okay. Now, the plan”, he plucked a hand inside his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

“Going by his routine Mr. Peterson should be away in the evening for half an hour before returning. Giving us time to break into his house and find the six keys he has hidden inside it. I saw him switch out the hiding places, so we just need to look everywhere. Once the basement door is unlocked, we rescue my friend and get out of there as fast as possible.”

His plan seemed simple, you just had to find the keys fast and pray that Ted didn’t return sooner. With only two people tho, it might get a little tight.

“Six keys for two people. Sounds a little bit much. Any idea where he might hide some of them?”, you asked. You had to be sure where to look, you couldn’t risk getting caught and destroying everything you had built up with Ted. Including the possibility of landing in jail.

“Probably in cupboards and stuff like that. And we aren’t only two people. I had time to talk with my friends and they want to help us, just this one time. So, we have to make it into the basement.”

So his friends decided to stand by him and help him, that was definitely not part of the game. It did sound suspiciously like Secret Neighbor though, you just hoped you didn’t have to deal with a Peterson in disguise. That would be terrible.

“Okay, sounds good. Any preparation before the big break in?”

Nicky folded the paper and stuffed it in his pocket again.

“My friends are already at my house under the guise of a sleep over. You can come to my backyard at 21 and meet us there. We have walkie talkies for communication, so one of my friends stays outside and warns us if Peterson returns.”

Nodding, you didn’t have any more questions. It sounded easy enough after all. With Ted gone you could look around without the fear of getting caught. And if he did return sooner you would get notified and leave before he even knew you were in his house in the first place.

“Alright I’ll see you in the evening then”, you told him.

Nodding and looking uneasy but determined he marched again in the direction of the tree line.

Vanishing behind some bushes you lost sight of him.

So you were really doing it. Taking action and changing the timeline. For the better you hoped. It wouldn’t do you any good to make Ted’s life harder with your decision. After all you wanted to help him and his son. Standing up you went back to your trailer. You had to make some preparations.

The sun was setting by the time you were finished.

You had looked through the wardrobe and found sturdy black clothing that would hopefully conceal your identity from him. With a black face mask that you still had in your old jacket pocket you could at least hide a portion of your face. Braiding your hair in a simple braid and sticking it under a black beanie. You looked like a burglar, but at least Theodore wouldn’t recognize you this way. Stepping outside you realized you would have to march through the forest in almost complete darkness. Deciding to just quickly leave the forest and hope that the Guest wouldn’t dare step a foot inside the town, you closed and locked the trailer door and marched to the Forest edge. Nicky had taken a path right through the underbush, but you were mostly unfamiliar with the forest and its paths so you sticked to the ones you knew.

The town was quiet. Some streetlamps flickered and shed some light into the otherwise inky darkness of Friendly Court. You quickly made your way to Nicky’s house. You didn’t want to be seen in a get up like this, least you get arrested.

Going around the turquoise house you ducked under the windows and hid between the fence and some bushes. Nicky and his friends should meet you here soon.

You risked a look at the house on the other side of the street. A single light was lit inside the Peterson house. What he was doing at this hour, you weren’t sure. You just hoped he wouldn’t see you here or he would probably never forgive you.

Just then the back door to the Roth house quietly opened. Slowly Nicky made his way into the backyard, followed by Trinity, Enzo and Maritza. You remembered them from the game and instantly noticed how much like their counterparts they looked. Maritza even had her stripes painted on. Slowly rising from your hiding place, you revealed yourself to the kids.

Nicky saw you and looked relieved, his friends didn’t share his emotion. Enzo was frightened by your sudden appearance from the darkness and Trinity and Maritza looked a little uncomfortable.

“Holy Shit, you are real!”, Enzo practically shouted.

“Nice get up”, commented Maritza.

You looked confused at Nicky for an explanation.

“They thought you weren’t real. That an adult wouldn’t believe me about Mr. Peterson.”

Well that was sad. You were very much real. And an adult at that.

“Well, I’m real. And I’m here to help rescue Nicky’s friend. So, when do we start?”

At that Nicky stepped forward. From his pocket he pulled small ear pieces, your means of communication. Giving each of his friends one, he lastly held out one to you.

“Enzo will stay outside and monitor the street. If anything happens, he’s going to notify us. Me and Maritza will search the bottom floor. You and Trinity are searching the top floor. If you find a key notify us and bring it to the door.”

And with that you took the ear piece and hooked it inside your ear. It gave slight static noises. With Nicky at the top you started making your way to the edge of the Roth house. Hiding behind some bushes you all looked with baited breath at the blue house with the single light on.

“Any minute Now”, said Nicky.

You waited for Ted to leave his house to go do whatever he did at this time of the night. Just then the light went out and shortly after the front door opened.

Ted looked a little disheveled with splotches on his sweater and uncombed hair. Why did you suddenly thought he looked cute? Your face mask was hiding your red face but you hoped your thoughts didn’t show through your body language.

Ted didn’t notice you hiding, he strolled to his car and got in. With more force than necessary he made a turn and drove away.

After his car vanished behind the street, Nicky and his friends got up, except for Enzo.

“Alright, let’s do this before he comes back.”

Quietly approaching the looming house, you went around it to the backdoor. Nicky reached inside his pocket and got out his lockpicking set. You read about this in the books but were fascinated seeing in person how he opened the lock in under three minutes.

Opening the creaking door, you carefully went after the kids inside the dark house. Nicky and Maritza went into the kitchen while you and Trinity approached the staircase. Climbing the creaking stairs, you casually looked around. While visiting Ted with Ike you never got the chance to see his second floor.

You stood in a long hallway, doors lining the walls. You sure hoped these were unlocked, else you had no idea how fast Nicky could lockpick them.

“Everything alright, you two?” Nicky asked through the ear piece.

You reached for yours and pressed the little button on the middle to speak.

“Yeah, we are on the second floor now. We'll proceed to search the rooms.” Taking your finger from the ear piece you looked at Trinity.

“It would be best to split up, I guess.” She nodded at that and took the left side from the stairs. You turned around and went to the right side. Opening the first door you were greeted by what looked like a big bedroom, probably Ted’s. Great the first door had to be his room. Ugh.

Going around the bed you searched the nighstands. Some tissues and sleeping pills but otherwise empty. Approaching the closet at the wall you carefully opened it. There were a lot of yellow shirts and blue sweaters, unsurprisingly. But also, some woman’s clothing. Left by Diane. He seemed to hold onto it even after his wife died. That was sad. You felt somewhat awful going through his things but remembered that you did this to safe Aaron. Pushing the clothing away you were greeted by a face. You clapped a hand over your mouth to muffle your screams and tried to get as far away as possible. In your fright you crashed against the bed and fell on it.

With a racing heart you stared into the dark closet.

It was a doll. A fucking doll that scared you. No ordinary one but the sex doll from some early concept art. You didn’t know if you should be frightened, shameful or angry. From all the details that were scrapped why did this one has to be in this timeline? While looking over the poor imitation of a woman your unhelpful mind conjured up images of what Theodore might do with his _toy_. Face beet red you turned and tried to banish these thoughts. You couldn’t get horny while on a mission, Damn it. Crawling from the bed you approached the closet again. Dismissing the doll, you searched through it for any potential keys. No luck. Closing the door, you hoped your face was somewhat normal again. Leaving the bedroom, you approached another door.

Your ear piece crackled.

“I found one and Maritza too”, said Nicky’s voice through the speaker. Already two locks down. Just four more to go.

Opening the second door you were greeted by what looked like a home gym. Some weights and mattresses sat inside it, with lockers on the far wall and some cupboards.

Approaching the weights, they seemed clean and used often. Good to know that Ted did weightlifting. Your mind again conjured some naughty pictures which you tried to ignore. Going thought the cupboards, you found trash and the occasional odd item. But no key.

Going around the weights you approached the lockers. There where some shirts and tops inside, stuff Ted would wear while working out. And there on the bottom glimmered a red key. You couldn’t believe your eyes until you reached out and picked it up. Reaching for your ear piece again to notify the others.

“Found one. I’m coming down.”

Closing the locker, you left the gym room and went for the stairs. Arriving at the bottom you went through the hallway and arrived at the living room. The two loose locks lied on the floor near the door. It was as imposing as the first time you saw it. Approaching the heavy door, you stuck the red key in its appropriate lock. With a resolute click the lock was open and fell to the floor. Three more.

Going back upstairs you could hear Trinity in one of the rooms. She was still searching. A resolute grumble from outside announced a nearing storm. You knew how fast these could form in Raven Brooks.

Going through the rooms you hadn’t yet visited you arrived at what looked like an office. Shelves lined the walls and a big table stood at the far end.

“I found one”, Trinity said through the ear piece. Two more.

The table was full of blueprints and manilla folders. Some showed roller coasters and other attractions Ted was working on. Others were still blank.

Shuffling the papers around you looked if he maybe hid one under the chaos. Outside rain started to pour heavily.

“There was one in the fridge”, Maritza told you through your ear piece surprised, “who puts Keys in a fridge?”

“Someone who has something to hide”, answered Nicky. Then the line went silent again. You pondered how much time you still had.

Still looking through the paper chaos you found some rides that you knew. The Rotten Core for example and the Pharaos Tomb were two you recognized. On the table was no key, so you checked the drawers. Pencils and various tools for drawing where inside. Some papers and more folders. There was one that picked you interest. It was labelled ‘The land of under’. If you remembered correctly this was Ted’s term for his basement. Curios you opened it.

“I found it! The last one!”, Nicky’s voice spoke through the speaker. After that it went to static. You would meet them soon, you just wanted to look through this folder really quick.

Opening it you instantly saw scribbled ideas for rides and rooms in the basement. So, he really was building his own amusement park down there. Shuffling through the paper you found a room labelled ‘Aaron’. You had a pretty good idea what or who was in that room.

Your ear piece gave a burst of static.

“ -nothing. There’s nothing here I can’t-“, Nicky's distorted voice sounded through the static.

Pushing against the button you spoke: “Check everything. There has to be something.”

You couldn’t outright tell him that he needed to go through the washing machine.

He didn’t answer. Damn, the storm was interfering with the connection.

Shuffling through the papers you saw the outline of a room carefully scribbled onto the paper. ‘The artists room’ it said in neat cursive. Maybe a room for Aaron’s hobby?

Just then the static grew and what sounded Enzos panicked voice inbetween. You couldn’t understand what he was saying.

More static. Then it cleared a little.

“-back! He’s back! Get out off There! Get-“

The folder fell from your grasp. Your whole body turned cold. You had to get out of there. Now! Sprinting out of the room you could hear the others run up the basement stairs and stand in the living room.

You were on top of the stairs as you heard him unlock the front door. If you went down there now, he would see you. Turning back, you ran into the office again. Hide. Hide somewhere! The cupboards were too small. Maybe behind the door? No, bad idea. Gripping the window behind you you spied a ledge outside that was slick with rain. It was protruding way beyond the window to the wall of the house. If he didn’t look outside you would be safe. You could hear him climbing the stairs. With no other option you opened the window and crouched onto the ledge. It was a real tight fit and slick with rain. One wrong move and you would fall. Almost completely closing the window behind you you crawled along the ledge until you weren’t infront of the window anymore. Pressing your back against the wall of the house, you waited. He wouldn’t find you. He couldn’t know you were here. Repeating these sentences in your head like a mantra you desperately tried to hold onto the wall.

You could hear him rummaging somewhere upstairs. Maybe the gym?

Under you on Ted’s backyard you could see Nicky, Maritza and Trinity all sprinting to Nicky's house. Well, at least they made it safe out.

You could hear the door to the office room opening. Holding your breath, you counted his heavy steps. He seemed to approach the table and shuffle though the papers. Then he grunted, maybe he bent down? And seemed to pick something up.

Shit, that was the basement folder you let go off, which landed on the floor. Now he knew someone had to be inside his study.

The window opened.

Your heart beat almost exploded with fear. That was it. You had fucked up.

His gloved hand came to rest onto the windowsill. You could picture him looking outside. Noticing you. Grabbing your ankle or simply pushing you down to fall to your death.

He was friendly when you were visiting him and you got lulled into a comfortable relationship with him. But he was still the neighbor, still a dangerous man that you should fear, because he would stop at nothing to keep his secrets.

You made the mistake of forgetting that, and now you would pay dearly for that.

Downstairs a window shattered. Ted let go of the windowsill and ran out of the room. His thundering footsteps bouncing down the stairs. As the house fee quiet again you shakily exhaled.

But then your mind reminded you that if that was your only chance to get out of this house alive, you should take it. Carefully unclenching your frozen limbs, you crawled along the ledge. Climbing inside the window you had to move fast. Your soaked body you would leave a trail he could easily follow. Sneaking through the study you looked through the open door into the dark hallway. From there you couldn’t hear him, was he downstairs or back upstairs and waiting for you to come back out? You didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to risk running into his arms. There wouldn’t be any second chances once he caught you. With baited breath you listened more intently. You couldn’t hear anything except your thundering heartbeat. _Move god dammnit don’t wait for him to come back an get you!_ Your brain screamed.

With a pounding heart you rounded the corner and made your way to the stairs. He was still doing something downstairs; you could hear him now.

Carefully climbing down, you hoped the slight creaking would be overtoned by the heavy rain.

Your limbs were shaking so bad you were certain you would just fall and break your neck. Step after step you feared he would round the corner and see you or make a sound. Almost there. The neighbor grumbled something in the living room. You halted in your movements but couldn’t hear him approaching so you quirky resumed your actions. Finally arriving downstairs, you had to think. You needed to go to your left to get to the backdoor. It was hopefully still open as going through the front door would lead you near the living room occupied by Ted. And he would defiantly see you trying to unlock and escape through his front door. While your mask should protect your identity, you didn’t want to risk anything. Sneaking over the floor you could hear Ted grumble from the living room again. He was redoing the locks, the clicks sounding heavy through the relative silence of the house. Almost there. He clicked the last lock shut and proceeded to leave the living room in your direction. You hurried along and rounded the corner leading to the backdoor just as he came into the hallway. He was standing still, listening for any more foreign sounds in his domain.

Sniffing the air his eyes fell onto the floor. Big puddles stained his rug and floorboards. Leading to the backdoor. Rubbing his gloved hands together he carefully stepped into the hallway, going right in your direction. Grabbing onto the corner he quickly rounded it, prepared to snatch whoever was hiding there.

Only darkness greeted him and his open backdoor leading into the heart of the storm.

You had the odd sense of a déjà vu. Running through the rain your steps slipped through the mud. You were running around backyards into the direction of the forest.

Your mind wandering to the fateful day you where brought here. It had rained as heavily as it was now and the storm had also rumbled loud over you.

You hoped you wouldn’t get hit by lightning again or be crushed by a falling tree.

Finally seeing the forest edge, you stood under a big tree and tried to get your bearings. You weren't sure where the campsite was, you hadn’t taken this path before. Slowly going around the tree you looked into the dark forest. You sure hoped you would find your trailer soon, you were freezing. Going along a barely distinctive path you looked for anything familiar. You should have explored the forest a lot more when you had the time, now it was to late. Leaves and branches slapped against you as you tried to find your way through the wet underbush. Over you thunder rumbled ominous. If you got hit by another lightning bolt, would you be transported back to your reality or die permanently? Shaking your head, you shouldn’t think about that now. There was no time. You had to find your trailer and get out of this storm, least you freezed to death. You also had no idea if Ted would chase after you. He had rounded the corner as you had hopped over his fence. He was fast, he could potentially get to you with his speed. He had also followed the kids in the book after they had spied on him doing stuff in the old park, so it wasn’t a stretch that he would chase you through the whole town if he had to. Spying a rectangular form in the distance you slipped on wet leaves and crashed against a metal fence. There was the Golden Apple Factory lurking in the distance, heavy clouds hanging over it, so the campsite was nearby.

Going around the fence you held on for dear life as the ground became uneven.

Suddenly something grabbed onto your jacket from behind. Your first instinct was to scream. Ted had found you after all. The second one was to ram your elbow behind you.

It crashed against something solid. Like wood. Your assailant let go, giving you enough time to turn around.

You didn’t expect Theodore to chatch up to you that fast.

A violent clap of thunder briefly illuminated the silhouette of the Forest Protector you had seen yesterday. You really shouldn’t be surprised to see him here instead of Ted, but still you gaped at it. It was posed as if it was going to jump you. Flinging yourself to the side you narrowly avoided being buried under it. Sprinting along the path you already knew you frantically looked behind you. The Guest had crashed into the fence and was trying to stand up admit the heavy rain.

Something caught your leg, sending you sprawling. You could hear you pantleg tear and felt a slight burning sensation in your leg.

Fumbling to get up again you could hear the terrible croaking noise behind you. Something grabbed your ankle so you kicked it, feeling its chest getting hit. You finally were standing up again and sprinted down the path where the campsite lay. Your leg was burning with every step and the rain was pounding down on you, slowing you down. But you couldn’t stop now. So many things hadn’t gotten to plan today, getting chased by a Guest was only the last straw. You were sure you could see your trailer between your wet strands that were escaping your soaked beanie.

Grabbing the key from your pocket you slammed into the door and fumbled for the keyhole. You could here the frantic steps through the quickly forming puddles behind you. Unlocking the door, you felt something again grab you from behind. This time turning around and punching at every surface that was available to you, you slammed your fist into the side of its head, stunning it.

That gave you enough time to jump into the trailer and close the door in its face. Quickly locking it you could hear frustrated banging from outside. After a while it stopped, as did the heavy rain.

You sat there, soaking wet and catching your breath. Your leg burnt and hurt more since the adrenalin was ebbing away. Shedding your wet and muddy jacket and rolling up your shredded pantleg you took a good look at the wound. It bled heavy, soaking your shoe and sock. That looked bad. Carefully removing your pants, you winced as it touched the open wound. You had nothing to bandage it, no first aid kit. But you couldn’t let the wound open either. Crawling to the closet you pulled out a clean scarf. Tomorrow you would call Ike and ask him to help you, but for now there was nothing else you could do.

Tying the scarf around your leg you threw the wet clothing into the shower and closed the door. Trying to dry yourself off you grabbed some towels and started rubbing down your body and hair, soaking up the wetness. After you were mostly dry you noticed that you were trembling. You quickly went under the blanket of your bed, curling into a ball and hoping to warm up quickly. The pain of the wound and the potential threat outside wouldn’t let you sleep either way.


	13. Illness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the big break-in yesterday, your leg wound gives you some problems. Luckily, you don't have to deal with it alone.

A burning and heavy sensation in your head made you wince. Your back also hurt and you felt cold. What had happened?

Slowly your tired mind started remembering details from yesterday. The break in and the guest. Your wound.

At that your leg gave a sharp pulse, reminding you that it was still there. Slowly lifting your pounding head from the pillow, you pulled the blanket aside. The whole scarf you tied around your leg was soaked through with blood, some also soaking your mattress. It hurt like hell, pulsing and burning. You hadn’t cleaned it yesterday; it was probably a little infected already.

You needed help. Fast.

Blindly grabbing for your phone that was under your pillow you quickly opened a chat with Ike. Hoping that he would answer fast.

<You (9:12): _Ike I need help. I hurt my leg and don’t have anything here to treat it, can’t go to the hospital either_.

You hit sent and hoped that he read it quickly. Laying your phone on your chest you waited for his reply. You felt hot all of a sudden, even tho your teeth were chattering. Throwing the blankets from you, you tried to stand up to at least clean the wound a little bit. Slowly sitting up you were hit by a strong wave of nausea. Clapping a hand over your mouth you desperately tried not to puke all over your bed. You wouldn’t get to the toilet in time. Concentrating on breathing through your nose you cursed the Guest and his bad timing. If he didn’t surprise you yesterday, you wouldn’t have hurt your leg.

The nausea passed, leaving behind a dry feeling in your throat and mouth. Grabbing onto the edge of the mattress you clumsily stood up.

Your body felt weak and cold.

Hanging onto various furniture to not fall face first onto the floor, you made your way to the sink, if slower than you would have liked. Standing up proofed to be too much for your weak body so you sank down into a sitting position. Taking some deep breath to fight another wave of nausea you opened the cupboards under the sink. Grabbing a clean rag, you held it under the cold water. Slowly trying to peel the scarf away, wincing almost the entire time as dried blood clung to the scarf and wound, ripping it open again. 

Once the scarf was peeled away you took a good look. The wound was deeper than it seemed yesterday, the edges somewhat red from a mild infection. Taking the wet cloth, you gently rubbed over the wound, cleaning left over mud from it and hopefully preventing any more infection.

Your phone made a sound, indicating that you got a message. The cold cloth felt good on your heated flesh, you continued to press it onto your wound while slowly crawling to your bed. Pulling yourself onto the mattress you grabbed your phone and looked at the message.

<Ike (9:14): _Shit, I’m out of town at the moment._

<Ike (9:14) _I’ll call Ted, one sec._

You held the phone while you waited. It didn’t sound like a good idea to get Ted to treat your wound while the break in was only yesterday. It was a stretch but you feared he would make the connection between your state and the break in. If there was one thing the books didn’t lie about, it was his cleverness and ability to sniff out a lie.

Your phone made a sound again.

<Ike (9:16): _He’s on his way._

A somewhat ominous text. Laying back down as another strong wave of nausea hit you and a splitting headache was beginning to form, you closed your eyes and hoped Ted wouldn’t notice your participation in his house raid yesterday.

It seemed that you fell asleep. That’s the first thing that came to your mind again after somewhat waking up. The second was that your leg was really hurting now and also not under your blanket anymore. There’s an unfamiliar tightness, as if the scarf was magically back around it. Had you hallucinated taking it off and texting Ike?

Slowly peeling your eyes open you saw the blurry form of Ted kneeling by your bed, bandaging your wound with utmost care.

“Teddy?”, you croaked.

He turned his head, his stare somewhat empty.

“Hello”, his voice was so quiet.

“What are you doing here?” You stammered. You were confused, your head trying to understand what it was seeing.

He gave a gentle grin and chuckle at that.

“Ike called me. Told me you were hurt and needed help.”

He looked at his hands again, bandaging your leg.

“You didn’t open the door. Found you like that with a bleeding leg and fever. I already cleaned the wound.”

Didn’t you lock your door yesterday? You were pretty sure you did. But if you remembered correctly, he did manage to break into Nicky’s house once. Maybe he was also able to lockpick. If he did bust down the door you were pretty sure you would have woken up.

Setting your pounding head back onto the pillow you groaned.

You just wanted to sleep all day and forget yesterday entirely.

Ted finished wrapping your leg up, casting the blanket over it again and standing up.

Hands pressed into his hips he took a good look at you.

“And how exactly did you end up with a fever and a leg wound?”, he asked, eyebrows drawn together, clearly suspicious.

You obviously couldn’t tell him what you were doing yesterday night. Maybe not all of it.

“I was taking a night walk because I couldn’t sleep. Then the storm surprised me and I stumbled and hit my leg on something. The wound was infected this morning.” There, the best lies are somewhat the truth. He proceeded to stare. As if he knew. Knew you were the one to break in and hide by the window. You squirmed under his intense gaze, your teeth rattling against each other as a wave of cold hit you.

His eyes lost its intensity, a crease forming on his forehead. He was worried about you. And looked cute while doing so.

“I see. Next time, you shouldn’t leave your trailer while it’s dark”, he said, crossing his arms.

Then he changed the topic fast as always: “Do you have another blanket?”

You didn’t, so you shook your head, rolling onto your side, facing away from him. You feared he would see the guilt on your face and ask you about the break in yesterday. Sure of it that he would recognise you lying if you denied involvement in Nicky’s plan. He grumbled at that but bent down. You thought he wanted to sit on the bed but he proceeded to lie down beside you.

“What are you doing?”, you asked loudly, confused at his action.

“You are cold. If there is no extra blanket, I will have to warm you with my body heat. Least you suffer more”, and with that he pressed himself against your back and snuck a meaty arm around you.

You were getting warm by the heat that immediately grew on your face. You had to be beet red, you were lucky that he couldn’t see your face.

With each methodical breath he took, he pressed his chest and stomach into your back, sending goosebumps and electricity through you.

Flabbergasted you tried to bring your thoughts under control. If you weren’t so scared that he would learn of your involvement in the break in and bury you alive for it, you would probably enjoy lying besides a person you really, really liked. Even if you thought that his actions at the moment were somewhat uncharacteristic for him.

You were both quiet for a moment.

“I was worried”, he began suddenly, “I didn’t want you hurting with nobody here to take care of you.”

His arms gripped around you a little bit stronger, pressing his knees against the back of yours.

You didn’t know what to say to that. You felt awful about yesterday even if it was justified. And not only did your plan fail, you also got almost caught by him and were hurt by a Guest while fleeing. There probably wouldn’t be a chance to get in the basement in the near future.

Shifting behind you, Ted pressed his chin onto the crown of your head. His breath tickled your hair. “I'm sorry”, you suddenly said. You were, for everything. For breaking in and probably making him angry, for getting hurt, for forcing him and Ike into helping you. For stepping into this reality and demanding you change it because you thought it was the right thing to do, without thinking of others.

He exhaled and whispered: “Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

You didn’t know what came over you. The stress from the last few days were building up and choose and outlet. While this whole new reality stuff was happening you never had the chance to just lie there and not worrying about something. First a means home, then housing, then money, Forest Protector attacks, the break in, saving Aaron, Nicky and Theodore...

Big fat tears were starting to stream down your face, wetting the pillow under you. You held it together for a time but now all came crashing down on you, you felt burdened, overwhelmed. While you silently cried, Ted just held you, occasionally making a shushing noise. His ungloved hand rubbed your arm soothingly.

“You didn’t fall, did you?”, he suddenly asked after your tears had somewhat died down.

You were right, he partially knew you had lied. There was no point in lying again now, least he gets suspicious, so you just nodded your head.

“Then what did happen?”, he asked gently. You thought this might be the Theodore Aaron thought about as a father. The real one that would sometimes show himself through his shell. The gentle side, the one that was currently holding you, comforting you.

“It was a Gue- it was a man I think.” You couldn’t possibly know anything about Forest Protectors yet, so you held that information back.

“He was dressed as a bird. Attacked me without provocation. I was able to flee inside the trailer but got hurt while fighting him off.”

Ted bent his head down against your hair, his grip on you getting stronger.

He grumbled something into your strands that you didn’t catch.

“There are … rumours about people going missing inside the forest. About these Bird people. Forest Protectors.” He carefully started. These were all things you knew and you were sure he wouldn’t tell you much else. After all he was good with keeping secrets.

“It would be better to stay somewhere else. Safer. Not in the forest”, he continued.

Shaking your head at that, you didn’t have a choice in the moment because of money. Renting an apartment was simply to expensive without a steady income. You told him that.

He again grumbled something in your hair. Clearing his throat, he spoke more loudly.

“stay with me.”

“What?”

“I said: stay with me.”

You were shocked. After the whole ordeal yesterday, you would have thought that he would get extremely suspicious and wouldn’t let either you or Ike or anyone else inside his house again. But here he was, inviting you to stay with him, even tho he had to fear another attempt at opening his basement.

Flabbergasted you tried turning around to see his face but were instead greeted his his biceps.

“I can’t Ted, I don’t have money to pay you.”

“I don’t want your money”, he sounded adamant.

“You and Ike already did so much for me, I would feel bad imposing Like that.”

You also didn’t know if you could keep your act around Ted or if someday something you shouldn’t knew would slip through, instantly alerting him that you had knowledge he couldn’t even fathom.

“You are not”, his grip got stronger, crushing you against his chest and stomach.

“Still Ted, I can’t. I’m sorry. I don’t want to be a burden.”

He noticed that he couldn’t persuade you, so he just hid his face completely in your hair and grumbled.

We’re you imagining things or did he take a deep breath, inhaling your scent?

“Sleep”, he suddenly spoke, “You need sleep.” And with that he grew quiet.

Concentrating on how warm and secure you felt you closed your eyes and tried ignoring the slight pulsing in your leg, reminding you how you ended up in this predicament.

You couldn’t understand how fast some people could fall asleep. Not fifteen minutes after he told you to sleep, soft snores could be heard from behind you. This definitely wasn’t the volume he had in the game while sleeping but it did tell you that he wasn’t awake at the moment.

You on the other hand couldn’t sleep right now, even if your body desperately needed it. Opening your eyes your mind began to wander.

You didn’t think he would show up after yesterday and help you.

It would have made more sense that he would avoid leaving his house for more than a few minutes in fear off another attempt at opening his door. After all, he now knew that someone had knowledge of what was in his basement, or a strong suspicion, and tried to get inside.

Why would he leave his house unguarded, drive to your trailer and now sleep beside you if he knew his secret wasn’t safe?

It didn’t sound like him at all.

Trying to understand his ulterior motive, you let different scenarios run inside your head.

He could have prepared traps to stop everyone from even opening his front door, giving him enough security to leave his house for longer periods of time. Maybe something happened to Nicky, preventing him from trying to break inside after yesterday.

You really hoped this wasn’t the case.

Or maybe he just wanted to be a good friend and help you in your time of need. Sounded unrealistic but the fact that he was warming you with his body and cuddling you while sleeping somehow spoke for it.

While working your brain to understand you noticed how still he was. Still breathing but he didn’t adjust in his sleep. Not even once.

Was he a light sleeper, or a heavy one? Would one motion from you send him awake? You didn’t know and you didn’t really want to find out. Not because you feared he would be angry or something but because you thought he needed it. His dark eyes spoke volumes about how much sleep he got the last few weeks. He needed his rest. As did you.

Settling more against him you closed your eyes again. Surrounded by warmth and a feeling of security you slowly drifted off to sleep. Your tired mind happy that it finally got its rest after the events of yesterday.

You didn’t know how long you slept. All you were aware of was that it was warm under the blanket. Your leg didn’t throb as much as it did this morning and you felt like your fever was better. Slowly peeling your eyes open you inhaled and stretched a little. Pressing yourself against an already very close Theodore who commented your movement by a slight grumble.

Crap you had forgotten that he was still in bed with you.

Staying still you risked a look behind you. His eyes were open, the green iris focused on your face and almost staring into your soul. You squeked.

He started grinning at that, his moustache curling, eyes crinkling and pulling you against him.

“Good morning, or afternoon rather”, he greeted you with a gravely voice. He seemed to have woken up also moments ago.

“Morning?”, you squeked back, not knowing how to react.

His grin turned into a smile.

“Feeling better?”, he asked at which you nodded. You were sure you could actually stand up if you wanted to.

“Good. Stay in bed I’ll make you something to eat.”

Standing up his weight left the matress. You turned around and watched as he began stretching, some cracks and pops sounding from his back.

“You really don’t need to. You already helped me with my leg”, you stammered. You couldn’t let him serve you like you were the guest here.

“Stay in bed, you still need rest”, he told you sternly, pointing with his finger at you.

Looking back to the small kitchen area he looked through the cupboards, finding your canned soup and other goods. 

Taking out a chicken broth he took out a small pot and opened the can, pouring the soup inside the pot. Turning on the small stove he searched through some cupboards for a spoon to stir. You just lay there on your bed, watching him heat up the soup. It was weird, seeing him do domestic and normal stuff.

You sat up, determined to at least give him company and talk to him while he continued to go out of his way to help. Just to feel a cold draft touch your exposed back.

Wait, you were in your underwear. Suddenly realizing that if he turned, he would see you almost naked you clutched the blanket to your chest. That was right, after yesterday’s storm you shed your clothing and went under the blanket without changing. And he had slept beside you while you were somewhat naked. Heat immediately rushed to your face. You desperately hoped he didn’t notice your face or state of undress. And didn’t look inside the closed bathroom, where your muddy burglar clothing lay inside the shower, probably still wet.

He seemed to notice your shocked state.

“Everything alright?”, he asked while stiring.

“uh-hu. I just- I- Ahem”, how exactly were you going to tell him that?

He looked at you expectantly.

“I- can you turn around?”, you asked.

“why?”, sounding confused he looked over your body, hidden behind the blanket, to find the source of your discomfort.

“I don’t … I’m not dressed right now”, you blurted out, deciding to just be blunt.

His eyes flickered back to the blanket, growing large and then shooting back to your face.

Clearing his throat, he turned around without a word.

Making sure he couldn’t see your naked reflection somewhere, you threw the blanket from you and stood up.

Turning around you strolled to the closet.

“And no peeking!”, you told him over your shoulder at which he chuckled.

Grabbing a loose black yoga pant and a comfy looking shirt you quickly got dressed. Your injured leg gave you some problems once you tried to balance on it. But you managed.

Feeling not as exposed as before you gave Ted the okay to turn around. He did, casting a quick look in your direction and then resuming to steer the soup.

You sat on the mattress again, giving your leg a break.

“Try to be easy on your injury today. It will open up again if you don’t”, he told you, setting the spoon aside. Reaching for the cupboard he proceeded to grab two plates for yourself and him.

“I will. I think I’m just going to sleep the rest of the day either way”, chuckling, you let your gaze wander around your trailer.

Only for it to land on a small, black object on the dinner table.

It was the ear piece.

Eyes growing larger you practically threw yourself towards the table and grabbed the small piece of plastic.

Just in time for Ted to turn around and place the plates onto the table. You just hoped he didn’t saw it earlier.

Carefully sitting on the small cushioned bench by the table you let your hand glide into your pocket, hiding the incriminating proof.

Ted didn’t seem to notice your weird behaviour, filling your plates up with hot soup and sitting down opposite of you.

He looked at you and gave a grin.

“Well then, _guten Appetit_ ”, he said.

Flabbergasted you needed some seconds to remember that he lived in Germany for a time. Of course, he knew this phrase.

“ _guten Appetit_ ”, you said back to him.

Taking your spoon, you slowly started to eat.

The soup was hot but felt good on your empty stomach. Giving you your strength back after yesterday’s endeavours and the following illness.

Ted was quiet, focusing on eating and lost in his own thoughts. Maybe it was for the best. With how much everything seemed to go downhill you weren’t sure if you would accidentally give something away about your involvement yesterday if you tried to talk.

Finishing your meal, you put the spoon down. Ted had finished before you and was looking at you the entire time you ate your rest.

“Thanks for making the soup. And helping with my leg”, you had the feeling you couldn’t thank him enough.

Without his involvement you would have been in serious trouble right now.

“No problem. Just don’t make it a habit to get hurt”, he slightly grinned at that. Looking outside the window, he seemed to notice how high the sun already stood. It was Probably around midday to afternoon.

Pushing away from the table and standing up he crossed his arms.

“I need to go now. I have some… work to do. You stay here and rest. No more walks in the forest until we found a solution to your Forest Protector situation. You hear me?”, he looked stern, with his rigid posture and drawn together eyebrows. Almost like a father scolding his child.

Exhaling, you nodded. You didn’t want to repeat the mistake of yesterday while your leg was still injured.

He nodded and looked somewhat pleased. Turning to the door he opened it but turned back to you.

“Stay safe. And if anything happens, call me or Ike.”

And with that he stepped outside and closed the door.

You watched him through the window until he stepped into his car that was haphazardly parked near some bushes and drove off, fast as always.

Exhaling again, you relaxed against the cushion. He didn’t seem to have noticed anything. Now you could get rid of the last evidence; the clothing, and he would be none the wiser.

But first …

Sticking a hand inside your pocket you took out the ear piece. You had to contact Nicky to know what he was planning on doing now that your plan had failed. You didn’t want him to try to go in alone if he noticed Ted’s long absence. Sticking it in your ear you pressed the middle button. Static immediately emitted from the speaker.

“Nicky are you there? I need to talk to you.”

Taking your finger from the button you waited for his response.

Of course, there wasn’t one. He probably didn’t even hear you if he wasn’t around the ear piece.

“Nicky? If you’re there please talk to me”, only static greeted you. Letting the piece inside your ear you stood up. Maybe he would try contacting you on his own during the rest of the day.

Just then the static was cut off.

“Why do you need to talk to him?”

That wasn’t Nicky.

“Uuuh … who am I talking to?”

“Maritza”, she told you. Did you imagined it or did she sound pissed?

“Ah, yeah I remember now. Well, I need to know if he plans on doing something in the near future. Safety purpose, you know?”, hoping she would get the idea what you were talking about without explicit stating it (You never knew who listened in).

“Not you too”, she grumbled frustrated.

“Listen, I already told Nicky this. There’s nothing in his basement. We were down there. He’s just a weird, old, stinky man living in his weird, old, stinky house. Aaron is gone and breaking into Mr. Peterson’s basement won’t change that.”

Flabbergasted you stared ahead. What could you possibly answer to that? You couldn’t directly tell her that the basement entrance was hidden behind a washing machine, could you?

“Did you look around? What was inside his basement?” You could hear Maritza give an annoyed sigh on the other side.

“Yes, we did look around. There was nothing down there, just a boiler and a washing machine. Some clutter but otherwise empty.”

Maybe you could …

“Did you look inside the washing machine?”

The line was silent. You could just picture her face staring angrily ahead.

“Why should we?”, she asked confused.

“I don’t know. Maybe he has secret doors or stuff like that.”, the best you could do without outright saying that you knew there was something behind it.

“God, you sound just like Nicky. Listen, there’s nothing in the basement. Stop encouraging Nicky’s behaviour and keep you distance from him and Peterson. We don’t need another stalker getting into trouble with the police”, and with that she cut the line off, the only sound coming through was static again.

Shit. You had lost the support of his friends. Meaning that Nicky would probably try to break in alone in his frustrations. You had to be careful about planning another stunt now, least Maritza or anybody else would rat you out to the police about your involvement. It was still a punishable crime, even if it was justified in this case.

The line crackled again.

“do you share her opinion?”

Nicky’s voice sounded tired. Like he hasn’t slept since yesterday. He was probably also crushed about not finding the real entrance.

“No”, you told him, “his behaviour speaks for himself. I think he does hide something. And I still want to help you.”

He exhaled.

“Then you are the only one. My friends don’t want to help me any more”, he sounded so hopeless.

“Hey, don’t lose hope. I’m sure we'll find a way to rescue your friend. Even if we have to do it alone.”

He was quiet. Deciding to give him time to sort out his feelings, you stood from the couch and hobbled to your bed.

Practically falling onto the matress you reached a hand under your bed.

You could use the time to stock up your paintings.

Your hand didn’t reach the wooden art box. Huh, wasn’t it right at the front?

Leaning over the side and looking under the box you were confused. The boxes were father under the bed than you remembered. There also was one missing. The wooden box with art supplies and the metallic one with the baton were there, that left…

Facing glowing red, you rose up and stared ahead.

The only other person to be inside your trailer was Ted. But why would he look through your stuff and steal your … errr the _previous owners_ sex toys?

Did he also look through other stuff? If he saw the clothing in the bathroom, he sure didn’t comment on it or show it on his face that he knew you were lying.

Leaning against the headboard you suddenly didn’t feel like drawing anymore.

“You still There?”

Pushing the button on the ear piece you gave affirmation.

“I’ll see if I can make another plan. Mr. Peterson has changed his routine. And I’m sure there has to be like a secret door or something. Once I know where it is, I’ll contact you again. If you still want to help me.”

Giving a sad smile you knew he wouldn’t lose hope. After all, Aaron was his best friend and Nicky desperately wanted to save him.

“I do. You know where to find me”, and with that the line went silent.

You had spent the day rather unproductive. After talking with Nicky, you sketched some things in your sketchbook and copied a good idea onto a bigger canvas. After this you took a short nap to converse energy and then woke up again to finish the painting.

Now it was almost dark outside.

Lazily washing your brushed you took a quick look out the window where your former muddy clothing hung on the cloth line.

Not taking any more chances you had tried to wash the dark outfit in the small sink since the walk to the lake was to far with your leg. And also, because you didn’t really want to leave your trailer for long without a strong light in case the Guest made an appearance again. The clothing was still dripping, it would hopefully be dry tomorrow, then you could hide it inside your closet.

Setting the brush down you looked inside the mirror. Your reflection seemed to grumble back at you, with dirty hair and slightly flushed cheeks. You desperately needed a shower.

Peeling your clothes off you were slight startled by a sound from your phone.

Deciding to just hobble naked to your bed you snatched it up and looked at the text you, apparently got from Ike.

< _Ike (19:42): hey there, still awake_?

You shot him a quick yes and got back to the bathroom. Your phone gave another sound.

< _Ike (19:43): nice. I have news on the job front. I need some work samples; can I come by and take some with me?_

< _You (19:43): sure. When do you want to come_?

< _Ike (19:44): I’ll be by your trailer in 20 min._

< _You (19:44): ight._

And with that you sat your phone down and stepped inside the shower. You had to rush things a little if you wanted to get dressed before Ike arrived.

Turning on the water you were greeted by a surprised feeling. The water actually warmed up. Did Ted also fiddle with your water connection?

No more cold showers you thought giddily and started washing your hair and body quickly. There was some mud in your hair and some around your hands and legs, which you scrubbed away. Turning off the water you stepped out. With a towel around your hair and dressed again you excited the bathroom and sat on your bed. Ike should arrive any minute now.

Knocking on your trailer door grabbed your attention. That had to be him. Opening the door, Ike immediately looked you over.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”, he asked, giving you a smile

Smiling back at him and inviting him inside you told him: “Better. Ted was here, treated my leg and made me soup.”

You defiantly weren't going to tell him that you two cuddled. He would never let you live it down.

“That’s good. What exactly happened? How did you get hurt?”

He looked at you worried. Did he know about Forest Protectors? The books never clearly stated anything but he sure was careful once he stepped inside?

Deciding to just give him the undetailed version like you did with Ted the first time.

“Couldn't sleep and took a walk. The storm yesterday surprised me and I slipped and hurt my leg somewhere. I already got a scolding from Ted so don’t even think about it.”

Ike gave a chuckle at that. Leaning against your table he resumed a more relaxed position.

“Alright, alright. I won’t scold you. So, the work samples?”

Going to your bed where you had already laid out every piece you still owned, Ike followed an took a good look.

“These are impressive. I’ll just take some different ones with me and show them the higher ups. Maybe you already have a new job tomorrow”, he grinned at you. That would actually be nice.

Carefully collecting your samples, he put them in a bag for transportation.

“So, I really would like to hang out more but my shift starts soon. And you surely need to rest.

I’ll write you tomorrow about the job so be sure to check your phone.”

Giving him a hug as a goodbye, He first was surprised but quickly retaliated, he left your trailer and went in the direction of the Golde Apple Factory. Closing the door and locking it, you flopped on your bed. What a day!

Carefully arranging your leg, you pulled the covers over yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry if this encounter is somewhat cringe and Ted is OOC. I really liked the idea and wanted to include it in the story no matter what ^^  
> Also: Guten Appetit is something you say in German, it's like wishing someone a tasteful meal. It also signals that one can start eating.


End file.
